Morrison Bobbi, Boyle Todd A, Johnson Sammy
Gerald Schwartz School of Business, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS.
Can Pharm J (Ott). 2025 May 22:17151635251332612. doi: 10.1177/17151635251332612.
The World Health Organization's right to health underscores the need for accessible, acceptable, and quality health services. Given that most Canadians use the Internet for health information, the readability of online pharmacy services information is crucial for accessibility.
This study assessed the readability of online information about pharmacy services from Canadian provincial pharmacy regulatory authorities (PRAs) and community pharmacy banners. Public-facing website content was evaluated using various readability tests. Scores were compared to recommended reading grade levels by health organizations, and differences between PRA and community pharmacy banner websites were analyzed.
Website content from 9 PRAs and 10 community pharmacy banners was analyzed in June 2024. Average readability scores exceeded the recommended eighth-grade level, with summary scores ranging from 8.45 to 15.28. International English Language Testing System scores for all websites also surpassed reading benchmarks necessary for Canadian immigration. Mann-Whitney tests indicated statistically significant differences between PRA and community pharmacy banner websites, with the latter being more readable.
The results suggest that both PRAs and community pharmacy banners provide information at an advanced reading level, hindering accessibility. This aligns with other research indicating that online health information is often too complex for the general public. Improving readability, particularly for new Canadians, is essential for better accessibility.
Public health information on PRA and community pharmacy banner websites generally exceeds the recommended readability level, limiting accessibility. Implementing readability assessments and plain-language standards can enhance the accessibility and engagement of online health information.
世界卫生组织的健康权强调了获得可及、可接受和高质量医疗服务的必要性。鉴于大多数加拿大人通过互联网获取健康信息，在线药房服务信息的可读性对于信息可及性至关重要。
本研究评估了加拿大省级药房监管机构（PRA）和社区药房横幅上有关药房服务的在线信息的可读性。使用各种可读性测试对面向公众的网站内容进行评估。将分数与卫生组织推荐的阅读年级水平进行比较，并分析PRA和社区药房横幅网站之间的差异。
2024年6月分析了9个PRA和10个社区药房横幅的网站内容。平均可读性分数超过了推荐的八年级水平，汇总分数在8.45至15.28之间。所有网站的国际英语语言测试系统分数也超过了加拿大移民所需的阅读基准。曼-惠特尼检验表明PRA和社区药房横幅网站之间存在统计学上的显著差异，后者的可读性更强。
结果表明，PRA和社区药房横幅都以较高的阅读水平提供信息，这阻碍了信息可及性。这与其他研究一致，即在线健康信息对普通公众来说往往过于复杂。提高可读性，特别是对于新移民来说，对于更好地实现信息可及性至关重要。
PRA和社区药房横幅网站上的公共卫生信息通常超过了推荐的可读性水平，限制了信息可及性。实施可读性评估和平易近人的语言标准可以提高在线健康信息的可及性和参与度。
