PP093 - EVALUATION OF THE READABILITY OF ONLINE PATIENT INFORMATION MATERIALS ON THE WEBSITES OF ASPEN AND ESPEN SOCIETIES.

PP093

EVALUATION OF THE READABILITY OF ONLINE PATIENT INFORMATION MATERIALS ON THE WEBSITES OF ASPEN AND ESPEN SOCIETIES.

V. Hanci¹, E. İbisoglu^1,*, C. Kabakci Gok¹, F. Kara¹

¹DOKUZ EYLUL UNIVERSITY, İZMİR, Türkiye

Rationale: This study aimed to evaluate the readability of patient education materials(PEM) on websites of ASPEN and ESPEN societies

Methods: For our cross-sectional observational study, we used the websites of ASPEN and ESPEN Societies.The readability of the Patient Education Materials(PEM) available on societies’ sites was evaluated.The readability formulas used were the Flesch Reading Ease Score(FRES), Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level(FKGL), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook(SMOG), Gunning Fog(GFOG) and Automated Readability Index(ARI)(1).Since our study did not involve human or animal subjects and was conducted using open sources, ethical approval was not required.

Results: 49 PEM from ASPEN and ESPEN societies were included in our study. In the readability analysis of PEM, the FRES was 34.60((-11.13)-73.07)(very difficult), the mean FKGL, SMOG, GFOG and ARI level were 13.88(6.99-29.60), 14.43(5.59-26.57), 15.07(8.45-33.67), 12.28(7.03-32.51) years(very difficult) respectively.All readability formula results were significantly higher than the recommended sixth-grade level(p<0.001).When the societies were evaluated individually, the PEMs of all societies were above the sixth grade level according to all readability results(p<0.001).ESPEN's PEM were found to be more difficult to read compared to ASPEN's PEM(p<0.001).

Conclusion: Society websites are among the important resources for informing patients and their relatives. Therefore, patient information materials on society websites should have the recommended readability level(1). Compared to the sixth grade level recommended by the American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health, the readability of PEMs in ASPEN and ESPEN societies is quite hard.

References: 1.Hanci V,Otlu B,Biyikoglu AS.Assessment of the Readability of the Online Patient Education Materials of Intensive and Critical Care Societies.Crit Care Med2024;52(2):e47-e57.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared