Static versus interactive online resources about dementia: A comparison of readability scores
J.M. Robillard, A.B. Sporn
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AbstractStatic and social online health resources are widely and easily accessed, but not necessarily easily understood. Recent guidelines suggest that health-related text should be written at a grade level between 5 and 6. This guideline is particularly critical when considering persons with dementia; as the symptoms of dementia progress, patients experience losses in their reading comprehension abilities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the readability of online information about dementia returned through keyword searches on search engines (N=200 webpages), as well as contained within discussion forums about dementia (n=1068 discussion threads). Grade scores were analyzed and compared using the following formulas: Flesch-Kinkaid, SMOG and Gunning FOG. For webpages, the mean grade level of text as calculated by the Flesch-Kincaid, SMOG, and Gunning FOG readability formulas were 11.8, 13.9, and 13.2 respectively; for discussion threads, the mean scores were 7.66, 9.88, and 9.75, respectively. Information about treatment was the most difficult to read. Results show that information on discussion forums is significantly easier to read than is information found on static websites, and that overall, online information about dementia is written at a reading level that is too challenging for the general public. These findings have important implications for health information-seeking, and lowering readability should be a priority for providers of both static and interactive online information about dementia.Keywords: dementia, Alzheimer, readability, eHealth, discussion forums
J.M. Robillard, A.B. Sporn (2018). Static versus interactive online resources about dementia: A comparison of readability scores. Gerontechnology, 17(1), 29-37
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2018.17.1.003.00