AB107. SOH23ABS_014. Acromioclavicular joint reconstruction: an analysis of the readability and quality of online patient information
Orthopaedic Session II

AB107. SOH23ABS_014. Acromioclavicular joint reconstruction: an analysis of the readability and quality of online patient information

Liam O’Dwyer1, Ben Murphy2,3, Dermot O’Farrell3,4

1Graduate Entry Medical School, School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; 2Department of Orthopaedics, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Louth, Ireland; 3Department of Orthopaedics, University Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland; 4Department of Orthopaedics, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, Croom, Limerick, Ireland

Background: Currently, patients use the internet for health information relating to surgery. The aim of this study is to assess the readability and quality of online health information relating to acromioclavicular joint reconstruction. We hypothesize that the information will be of poor quality and be too difficult to read for the average patient.

Methods: The top 50 results from Google, Bing, and Yahoo [Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) “acromioclavicular joint reconstruction”, “ac joint reconstruction”] were used for analysis. Readability was assessed using 3 scores [Gunning FOG (GF), Flesch Kincaid Grade (FKG), and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE)], these scores were generated using an online calculator (www.readable.com). Quality was assessed using HONcode Google toolbar extension and JAMA benchmark criteria.

Results: A total of 116 Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) were subject to analysis. The mean GF was 12.11±2.88. The mean FKG was 10.59±2.15. The mean FRE was 38.86±13.27. FRE score found no website pitched at 6th grade level, and only 4 (3.4%) and 2 (1.7%) of the websites were pitched at this level according to the GF and FKG scores respectively. The mean JAMA score was 1.91±1.51. Only 10 websites had HONcode certification.

Conclusions: The quality of online patient information pertaining to acromioclavicular joint reconstruction is of poor quality and is too difficult to read. Providing high quality online information, that is easy to read for the average patient, will lead to better patient contribution to the shared-decision making process, and thus better patient outcomes.

Keywords: Acromioclavicular joint reconstruction; orthopaedics; surgery; upper limb; readability and quality

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-23-ab107
Cite this abstract as: O’Dwyer L, Murphy B, O’Farrell D. AB107. SOH23ABS_014. Acromioclavicular joint reconstruction: an analysis of the readability and quality of online patient information. Mesentery Peritoneum 2023;7:AB107.

Article Options

Download Citation

Share