title: Readability assessment of internet-based patient education materials related to facial fractures.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Various professional societies, clinical practices, hospitals, and health care-related Web sites provide Internet-based patient education material (IPEMs) to the general public. However, this information may be written above the 6th-grade reading level recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this study is to assess the readability of facial fracture (FF)-related IPEMs and compare readability levels of IPEMs provided by four sources: professional societies, clinical practices, hospitals, and miscellaneous sources.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of IPEMs on FFs available on Google.com.
  
  
  METHODS
  The readability of 41 FF-related IPEMs was assessed with four readability indices: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), and Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook (Gunning FOG). Averages were evaluated against national recommendations and between each source using analysis of variance and t tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 4.9% of IPEMs were written at or below the 6th-grade reading level, based on FKGL. The mean readability scores were: FRES 54.10, FKGL 9.89, SMOG 12.73, and Gunning FOG 12.98, translating into FF-related IPEMs being written at a "difficult" writing level, which is above the level of reading understanding of the average American adult.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IPEMs related to FFs are written above the recommended 6th-grade reading level. Consequently, this information would be difficult to understand by the average US patient.
authors: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
authors: Saurin
authors: S
authors: Sanghvi
authors: Deepa V
authors: DV
authors: Cherla
authors: Pratik A
authors: PA
authors: Shukla
authors: Jean Anderson
authors: JA
authors: Eloy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D032882:Comprehension; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004522:Educational Status; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012887:Skull Fractures; D013664:Teaching Materials; D014481:United States