Optimising Health Literacy in the Modern Era: A Readability Approach

Abstract

Worldwide internet use has increased more than eleven -fold over the past 20 years [1]. The increased availability of the Internet has provided patients with unprecedented access to health information and patients are increasingly turning to the internet for health education materials [2]. However, despite widespread Internet use among patients for health education, the majority of patients do not discuss this information with their healthcare provider [3]. This is concerning given that not only do patients commonly find online health information confusing, it also influences their decision regarding treatment options [4]. As a result, an increasing emphasis has been placed on health literacy. Health literacy is defined as the "capacity to obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services to enhance health [5]." Recently, it estimated that 36% of US adults [6] or roughly 90 million Americans [7] have basic or below basic health literacy.