• Michael Vives, Lyle Young, and Sanjeev Sabharwal.
• University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA. vivesmj@umdnj.edu
• Spine. 2009 Dec 1;34(25):2826-31.

Study DesignAnalysis of spine-related websites available to the general public.ObjectiveTo assess the readability of spine-related patient educational materials available on professional society and individual surgeon or practice based websites.Summary Of Background DataThe Internet has become a valuable source of patient education material. A significant percentage of patients, however, find this Internet based information confusing. Healthcare experts recommend that the readability of patient education material be less than the sixth grade level. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level is the most widely used method to evaluate the readability score of textual material, with lower scores suggesting easier readability.MethodsWe conducted an Internet search of all patient education documents on the North American Spine Society (NASS), American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and a sample of 10 individual surgeon or practice based websites. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level of each article was calculated using widely available Microsoft Office Word software. The mean grade level of articles on the various professional society and individual/practice based websites were compared.ResultsA total of 121 articles from the various websites were available and analyzed. All 4 categories of websites had mean Flesch-Kincaid grade levels greater than 10. Only 3 articles (2.5%) were found to be at or below the sixth grade level, the recommended readability level for adult patients in the United States. There were no significant differences among the mean Flesch-Kincaid grade levels from the AAOS, NASS, AANS, and practice-based web-sites (P = 0.065, ANOVA).ConclusionOur findings suggest that most of the Spine-related patient education materials on professional society and practice-based websites have readability scores that may be too high, making comprehension difficult for a substantial portion of the United States adult population.

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