Metrics for assessment of online patient education materials

With the advent of the digital age, the amount of patient health information available online has increased dramatically. However, such information is of low utility unless it is designed to suit the level and needs of the general public. Online health information has been evaluated using various metrics that assess readability, accessiblity, usability, and reliability. These criteria together provide an understanding of the degree to which a typical user can interact with the material presented. Across numerous sources, the readability of patient health literature was found to be higher than the reading level of the general American populace. Standards for improving health website accessiblity exist and have been applied with room for improvement. Usability is determined by evaluation of simulated users regarding the ease of obtaining lasting knowledge from a source. A wide range of variability exists in usability and reliability of online patient health information. Consideration of all four of these aspects is necessary in improving quality of patient health literature.