[Systematic analysis of the readability of patient information on the websites of clinics for plastic surgery].

[OBJECTIVE] The Internet is becoming increasing-ly important as a source of information for patients in medical issues. However, many patients have problems to adequately understand texts, especially with medical content. A basic requirement to understand a written text is the read-ability of a text. The aim of the present study was to examine texts on the websites of German -plastic-surgical hospitals with patient information regarding their readability.

[MATERIALS AND METHODS] In this study, the read-ability of texts of 27 major departments of plastic and Hand surgery in Germany was systematically analysed using 5 recognised readability indices. First, texts were searched based on 20 representative key words and themes. Thereafter, texts were assigned to one of 3 major themes in order to enable statistical analysis. In addition to the 5 readability indices, further objective text parameters were also recorded.

[RESULTS] Overall, 288 texts were found for analyzation. Most articles were found on the topic of "handsurgery" (n=124), less were found for "facial plastic surgery" (n=80) and "flaps, breast and reconstructive surgery" (n=84). Consistently, all readability indices showed a poor readability for the vast majority of analysed texts with the text appearing readable only for readers with a higher educational level. No significant differences in readability were found between the 3 major themes.

[CONCLUSION] Especially in the communication of medical information, it is important to consider the knowledge and education of the addressee. The texts studied consistently showed a readability that is understandable only for academics. Thus, a large part of the intended target group is probably not reached. In order to adequately deliver online information material, a revision of the analysed internet texts appears to be recommendable.