Patients are increasingly turning to the internet as a source of information on health issues. However, no standard currently exists across public websites on how to provide information about age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to patients. This cross-sectional study, published in Seminars in Ophthalmology, examined the quality and readability of free online information on AMD.
The study relied on twelve medical websites. A thirty-four-question questionnaire was used to evaluate the online content, which was also assessed by several vitreoretinal specialists and an online readability tool. The average questionnaire score was 90.23, with a perfect score of 136. The mean reading grade was found to be 11.44.
The researchers concluded that online content on AMD, in general, is difficult to read and of low quality, with few exceptions. A call to action is made on behalf of patients with AMD to improve the quality and readability of online AMD content [1].
Source:
[1] Kloosterboer, A., Yannuzzi, N., Topilow, N., Patel, N., Kuriyan, A., & Sridhar, J. (2021). Assessing the quality, content, and readability of freely available online information for patients regarding age-related macular degeneration. Seminars in Ophthalmology, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/08820538.2021.1893761
