The readability of websites providing information on liver transplantation and donation

Abstract

Nowadays, many people prefer websites to access information about health problems. The readability levels of the content of these sites are important for informing patients. In this study, it was aimed to determine the readability levels of Turkish websites related to “Liver Transplantation and Donation”, one of the most important operations in the world. Through the Google search engine, 76 websites that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study and divided into 3 groups based on the account managers who uploaded the videos: health professionals, news sites and other sites. The readability levels of these sites were determined according to Ateşman and Çetinkaya Readability Indexes. Ateşman Readability Index was found as 68 in health professionals-hospital source, 59 in news site group and 57 in other sites group. Çetinkaya Readability Index was found as 49 in health professionals-hospital source, 43 in news site group and 40 in other sites group. It was determined that the 3 subgroups were at a mild level of difficulty according to the Ateşman Readability Index and at an educational level according to the Çetinkaya Readability Index. The Ateşman and Çetinkaya Readability Index results of websites managed by health professionals and hospitals were statistically higher than the website sources in the other category (p<0.05). The Ateşman and Çetinkaya indexes were found to be perfectly compatible with each other (p<0.001). It was observed that the readability level of Turkish websites on liver transplantation according to the Ateşman and Çetinkaya readability indexes was more difficult than it should be according to Turkey 2024 data. It is recommended to increase the readability levels of internet resources on liver transplantation and specially to increase the number of websites containing texts written by health professionals or to get support from experts in the field.