Readability Analysis of Online Health Information about Overactive Bladder: Beyond the Abstract

What do patients see when they type “overactive bladder” into their search engines? And how readable are the search results by the average U.S. adult with an eighth-grade reading ability?2 In our readability analysis of the 57 most commonly found websites for OAB,3 we determined that the majority of online content far exceeds patients’ reading ability. Only 12% of the sources we examined would be readable by the average adult, raising concerns about potential misinterpretation of the condition or misunderstanding of the numerous effective interventions for OAB. We also assessed whether websites that are maintained by academic medical centers—often presumed to be the most reliable sources of health information—or certified by the international Health on the Net standard for high-quality online health content have easier readability. Surprisingly, neither of these factors predicted lower reading grade levels.

The findings underscore two perennial questions: Where can patients turn for readable, reliable information about their urological conditions, and to which online sources can urologists confidently direct their patients? Our study confirms the importance of carefully vetting patient education materials and reminds clinicians that even the most evidence-based, up-to-date information will have limited impact on patients’ decision-making if its readability is not carefully considered.