Online patient information from radiation oncology departments is too complex for the general population.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Nearly two-thirds of cancer patients seek information about their diagnosis online. We assessed the readability of online patient education materials found on academic radiation oncology department Web sites to determine whether they adhered to guidelines suggesting that information be presented at a sixth-grade reading level.

Methods and materials

The Association of American Medical Colleges Web site was used to identify all academic radiation oncology departments in the United States. One-third of these department Web sites were selected for analysis using a random number generator. Both general information on radiation therapy and specific information regarding various radiation modalities were collected. To test the hypothesis that the readability of these online

SUBMITTER: Rosenberg SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5219938 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan - Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature