E-Posters-10203

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The study evaluated the readability of online urogynecologic patient information found through Google searches. It was conducted in response to the increasing trend of patients using the internet as their primary source of health information. The researchers analyzed the most common keywords related to pelvic organ prolapse, bladder control issues, and bowel control issues. The primary outcome was the readability of the websites generated by these keywords.<br /><br />Using Google AdWords Keyword Planner, a list of relevant keywords was generated, and the top 100 search results for each keyword were collected and analyzed. The text of each result was evaluated using four major readability formulas: Dale-Chall, Gunning-Fog, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level.<br /><br />The study found that a total of 688 keywords generated an estimated 1,813,580 monthly searches. The top 20 results for each keyword search were evaluated, resulting in 2,731 unique websites. The SMOG index was determined to be the most reliable readability formula.<br /><br />Overall, the study revealed that 85% of the websites had a SMOG score at or above an eighth-grade reading level. Websites related to bladder control had statistically higher SMOG scores compared to those related to bowel control and pelvic organ prolapse. Websites ending in .com and .org had lower SMOG scores compared to those ending in .edu, .gov, and .net.<br /><br />The researchers emphasized the importance of clinicians having knowledge of readability metrics and recommendations for online content creation. They believe that attention to readability can help educate patients and foster shared decision making. The complete study details, including references, summary statistics, and a list of top websites and search keywords, can be found on the provided website.

Meta Tag

Concept Readability

Concept Patient Education Materials

Concept SMOG

Concept Online Information

Concept Urogynecology

Keywords

readability

online urogynecologic patient information

Google searches

internet

health information

pelvic organ prolapse

bladder control issues

bowel control issues

keywords

websites

Readability

Patient Education Materials

SMOG

Online Information

Urogynecology