Journal of health communication
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Comparative Study
Readability of consumer health information on the internet: a comparison of U.S. government-funded and commercially funded websites.
The Internet has become an extremely prevalent means of communicating health information to consumers. Guidelines for selecting reliable health information websites give preference to U. S. government sites over commercially funded sites. ⋯ There was no significant difference according to SMOG Formula (12.8 vs. 13.2, p = .150). The overall readability of Internet health information intended for consumers was poor. Efforts should be made to ensure that health information communicated via the Internet is easy for consumers to read and understand.