The Readability, Understandability, and Suitability of Online Resources for Ostomy Care.
Hannah Ficarino, Cara Moses, Lauren Wood and 4 others
PMID 39588816WHAT IT FOUND
Most patient ostomy care websites were written at a high-school reading level.
More content made the text harder to read, even though the sites were often understandable and suitable. Check reading level before recommending them.
Key findings
0123 patient-facing ostomy websites were analyzed, and the median SMOG score was 9.1 and the median Flesch Reading Ease score was 58. The paper says both reflect a high-school reading level.
02The median PEMAT score was 80 and the median SAM score was 55%, described as adequate suitability. Neither score differed significantly by website affiliation or number of content areas.
03Websites with more content areas had higher SMOG scores and lower Flesch Reading Ease scores. Readability was worse.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only English-language websites were assessed. The search used the first 60 results from three search engines, but results can change by date, location, and profile preferences. The study used a single search term, ostomy care, so other search terms may yield different websites. Social media platforms, blogs, support groups, PDFs, multimedia-only sites, and resources requiring a healthcare professional were not assessed. The methods assessed website text and scores, not patient comprehension or clinical outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a specific website improves ostomy outcomes or reduces readmissions. The study scored website text only, not patient comprehension, care, or hospital visits.