Readability and adequacy of periodontal disease websites in Portugal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4000/cp.11347Keywords:
readability, periodontal disease, electronic health literacy, health literacyAbstract
In the last years, the number of Internet users has increased considerably. In 2020, there are 4,54 billion Internet users worldwide, and, of those, 8,5 million are Portuguese.
For users, the Internet is the second source of valid information after that obtained through health professionals. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt the websites to all individuals, even for those with low levels of literacy. It is recommended that online resources are written between the third and seventh reading levels.
The objectives of this study were to assess the readability – how easy it is to read a text – and the adequacy of the materials in periodontal disease websites.
Online resources must be written between the third and the seventh US education level, which are equivalent to individuals with 7-8 years and 11-12 years, namely. A Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale, which evaluates readability, shows a value much higher than that recommended for the readability of websites.
The Suitability Assessment of Materials scale, which evaluates the suitability of the materials, revealed that a minority of the sites was considered superior.
In addition, almost half of the websites evaluated in this study failed to include images to support the written text, and only a minority included videos.
We conclude that websites are written at a higher level than what individuals can understand and, consequently, demand high levels of health literacy. Greater adaptation of these pages is necessary in order to empower the patients and their adherence to the treatment plan.
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