Marshall Rebecca, Pomeroy Eoghan, McKendry Catriona, Gilmartin Michael, McQuail Paula, Johnson Mark
Department of Anaesthesia, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Connaght, H91 YR71, Ireland.
Department of Orthopaedics, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
F1000Res. 2019 Apr 9;8:416. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.18675.1. eCollection 2019.
Patients frequently consult the internet for health information. Our aim was to perform an Internet-based readability and quality control study using recognised quality scoring systems to assess the patient information available online relating to anaesthesia for total hip and knee replacement surgery. Online patient information relating to anaesthesia for total hip and knee replacement was identified using Google, Bing and Yahoo with search terms , .' Readability was assessed using Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL) and Gunning Fog Index (GFI). Quality was assessed using DISCERN instrument, Health On the Net Foundation seal, and Information Standard mark. 32 websites were analysed. 25% were HONcode certified, 15.6% had the Information Standard. Mean FRE was 55.2±12.8. Mean FKGL was 8.6±1.9. Six websites (18.8%) had the recommended 6 -grade readability level. Mean of 10.4±2.6 years of formal education was required to read the websites. Websites with Information Standard were easier to read: FKGL (6.2 vs. 9, ), GFI (8.8 vs. 10.7, ), FRE score (64.2 vs. 9, ). Mean DISCERN score was low: 40.3 ± 13. Overall, most websites were poor quality with reading levels too high for the target audience. Information Standard NHS quality mark was associated with improved readability, however along with HONcode were not found to have a statistically significant correlation with quality. Based on this study, we would encourage healthcare professionals to be judicious in the websites they recommend to patients, and to consider both the readability and quality of the information provided.
患者经常在互联网上查找健康信息。我们的目的是使用公认的质量评分系统开展一项基于互联网的可读性和质量控制研究，以评估在线提供的有关全髋关节和膝关节置换手术麻醉的患者信息。使用谷歌、必应和雅虎，通过搜索词“ ， ”来识别与全髋关节和膝关节置换手术麻醉相关的在线患者信息。使用弗莱什易读性（FRE）、弗莱什 - 金凯德年级水平（FKGL）和冈宁雾度指数（GFI）来评估可读性。使用辨别工具、健康在线基金会印章和信息标准标志来评估质量。分析了32个网站。25% 获得了健康在线基金会（HONcode）认证，15.6% 有信息标准。平均FRE为55.2±12.8。平均FKGL为8.6±1.9。六个网站（18.8%）具有推荐的6年级可读性水平。阅读这些网站平均需要10.4±2.6年的正规教育。有信息标准的网站更易读：FKGL（6.2对9， ），GFI（8.8对10.7， ），FRE得分（64.2对9， ）。辨别工具的平均得分较低：40.3±13。总体而言，大多数网站质量较差，阅读水平对目标受众来说过高。国民保健服务（NHS）信息标准质量标志与可读性提高相关，然而，与健康在线基金会印章一样，未发现与质量有统计学上的显著相关性。基于这项研究，我们鼓励医疗保健专业人员在向患者推荐网站时要谨慎，并考虑所提供信息的可读性和质量。
