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Patient information on schizophrenia on the internet

^*Academic Unit of Psychiatry, University of Bristol, Cotham House, Cotham Hill, Bristol BS6 6JL, email: nicola.kalk{at}bristol.ac.uk

David D. Pothier, Specialist Registrar

Department of Otolaryngology, St Michael’s Hospital, Bristol

Declaration of interest

None.

See invited commentary, pp. 411-412, this issue.

AIMS AND METHODS

The internet is an important source of mental health information. Given variable literacy levels in the general public, patient information websites need to be easily readable to prevent misunderstanding and consequent misinformation about mental health problems being propagated. The aim was to ascertain the readability of websites containing patient information about schizophrenia. Twenty websites containing patient information about schizophrenia generated by Google^TM were analysed for Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level.

RESULTS

According to standardised Flesch Reading Ease classification, 40% of the selected sites were classified as very difficult, 55% as difficult and 5% as fairly difficult. None were considered easy to read. There was a negative correlation of –0.798 (P<0.001) between Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, which demonstrates the reliability of these results.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Easily accessed schizophrenia information websites do not score highly for readability. Those that produce websites should bear readability in mind when writing them in order to construct more readable sites. Ideally, these should be accredited by recognised organisations that evaluate readability. Clinicians should assess website information for readability before recommending them to patients or carers.

Related articles in PB:

Invited commentary on... Patient information on schizophrenia on the internet

David Shiers and Paul French
PB 2008 32: 411-412. [Full Text]