Background:Patient involvement can influence decision-making, satisfaction and outcomes, especially in cosmetic surgery. As patients increasingly use the internet for health information, many are limited by inadequate... [ view full abstract ]
Background:
Patient involvement can influence decision-making, satisfaction and outcomes, especially in cosmetic surgery. As patients increasingly use the internet for health information, many are limited by inadequate functional health literacy. The National Institutes of Health and American Medical Association recommend that educational content be written at a sixth grade reading level. This study compares online resources for rhinoplasty with sinusitis surgery using readability, complexity and suitability assessments.
Methods:
Ten most popular websites for terms ‘nose job’ and ‘sinusitis surgery’ were derived using the largest online search engine (Google). Articles acquired from each site were analyzed for readability (via 9 well-established readability tests), complexity (PMOSE/iKIRSCH) and suitability (SAM, Suitability Assessment of Materials).
Results:
A total of 195 articles were analyzed and readability analysis showed mean readability grades of 11.0 and 12.7 (p=0.049) for rhinoplasty and sinusitis surgery respectively. PMOSE/iKIRSCH revealed a mean score of 4.9 for rhinoplasty, corresponding to a “very low” complexity and a 4th-8th grade reading level; sinusitis surgery showed a lower PMOSE/iKIRSCH score of 3.7, “very low” complexity, and a 4th-8th grade reading level (p=0.14). Evaluation of rhinoplasty and sinusitis surgery via SAM showed percentage scores of 55% and 53% (p=0.38) respectively, attaining “adequate” content suitability. Inter-rater reliability for both tests was deemed fair.
Conclusion: Online resources on nose job and sinusitis surgery are above the recommended literacy level for average Americans. Rhinoplasty articles are comparatively easier to read, seemingly catering to cosmetic surgery patients. Assessed complexity and suitability of the articles fall within acceptable limits.
