Readability and Quality of Online Information on Sickle Cell Retinopathy for Patients

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the readability and quality of internet-based health information on sickle cell retinopathy. DesignThe study is a retrospective cross-sectional website analysis. MethodsTo simulate a patient's online search, the terms “sickle cell retinopathy” and “sickle cell disease in the eye” were entered into the top three search engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo). The first 20 results of each search were retrieved and screened for analysis. The DISCERN questionnaire, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) standards and the Health on the Net (HON) criteria were used to evaluate the quality of the information. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), the Flesch Reading Ease (FRES) and the Automated Readability Index (ARI) were used to assess the readability of each website. ResultsOut of 16 online sources, 12 (75%) scored moderately on the DISCERN tool. The mean DISCERN score was 40.91 (SD 10.39; maximum possible, 80). None of the sites met all the JAMA benchmarks and only three (18.75%) of the websites had HONcode certification. All the websites had scores above the target American Medical Association grade level of six on both the FKGL and ARI. The mean FRES was 57.76 (±4.61), below the recommended FRES of 80-90. ConclusionThere is limited online information available on sickle cell retinopathy. Most included websites were fairly difficult to read and of substandard quality. The quality and readability of internet-based patient-focused information on sickle cell retinopathy needs to be improved.