Quality and Readability Analysis of Turbinoplasty on the Web

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the quality, credibility, and readability of online health information concerning turbinoplasty, given the increasing reliance on internet resources for health education. Using four search terms related to turbinoplasty, we analyzed 71 text-based webpages from Google.com, Bing.com, and Yahoo.com. Readability was evaluated using the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, Gunning-Fog Index, SMOG Index, and Coleman-Liau Index were utilized. Web page quality was computed through the DISCERN Instrument (DISCERN), the Journal of the American Medical Association benchmark criteria (JAMA), Novel Turbinoplasty Index (NTI), and presence of code certification by Health on The Net (HON). Seventy-one text-based web pages were assessed. Information quality was measured by an average DISCERN score of 47.4±7.40, indicating “fair” quality. The average readability was a grade level of 9.7±1.57, notably higher than AMA and NIH recommendations. Of all web pages, only 11 (15.49%) proficiently met all 4 listed JAMA criteria. Significant correlations between web page classification and average DISCERN (P=0.0042), as well as JAMA score (P<0.001) were discovered. The web pages that had HON code certification revealed significantly higher quality metrics such as DISCERN scores (P<0.001), JAMA scores (P<0.001), and NTI scores (P=0.038). Online health information for turbinoplasty is of “fair” quality, and the average readability is several grade levels above current AMA and NIH recommendations. Health care providers should aim to guide their patients on finding appropriate educational resources and should improve the readability of their patient education materials.