Previously submitted to: JMIR Formative Research (no longer under consideration since Sep 29, 2022)
Date Submitted: Jul 9, 2019
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 12, 2019 - Sep 6, 2019
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Assessing the Quality and Readability of Health Information Webpages on Chronic Conditions
ABSTRACT
Background:
Chronic conditions are highly prevalent in Canada, and individuals living with one or more chronic conditions often have complex care needs. Patient empowerment and self-management are central components of modern chronic disease management and one of the ways patients with chronic conditions self-manage their health is through the use of online resources and tools. There is, however, no regulation of information on the internet and patients may use potentially harmful or misleading information to inform their clinical decisions.
Objective:
The current study aimed to assess the quality and readability of easily accessible online health information resources.
Methods:
This study utilized Google and a number of other health information websites to search for information on seven common chronic conditions (asthma, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension, and mental health). Eligible webpages were then checked for quality using a 13-point checklist and for readability using the Dale-Chall readability formula.
Results:
: A total of 123 webpages were found that contained health information intended for the public. The quality scores ranged from 6/13 to 13/13. A majority (79.7%, N=98) of these webpages were high quality. The remaining webpages were medium quality. The webpage with the highest readability was written at a ninth to tenth grade level. The most common readability score was college graduate (41.5%, N=51). Taken together, the number of webpages that required post-secondary education to understand them was 92 (74.8%).
Conclusions:
Health information identified through simple and practical searching methods was overall of high quality but had low readability. This study suggests that freely available information may not be universally accessible, particularly to those with lower educational attainment that may also be at higher risk of poor health outcomes.
Citation
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