Cargando…
Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis
BACKGROUND: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is proven to prevent HIV infection. However, PrEP uptake to date has been limited and inequitable. Analyzing the readability of existing PrEP-related information is important to understand the potential impact of available PrEP information on PrEP uptake a...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
JMIR Publications
2023
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10507523/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37665621 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/48630 |
_version_ | 1785107337568059392 |
---|---|
author | Park, Albert Sayed, Fatima Robinson, Patrick Elopre, Latesha Ge, Yaorong Li, Shaoyu Grov, Christian Sullivan, Patrick Sean |
author_facet | Park, Albert Sayed, Fatima Robinson, Patrick Elopre, Latesha Ge, Yaorong Li, Shaoyu Grov, Christian Sullivan, Patrick Sean |
author_sort | Park, Albert |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is proven to prevent HIV infection. However, PrEP uptake to date has been limited and inequitable. Analyzing the readability of existing PrEP-related information is important to understand the potential impact of available PrEP information on PrEP uptake and identify opportunities to improve PrEP-related education and communication. OBJECTIVE: We examined the readability of web-based PrEP information identified using search engines and on Twitter. We investigated the readability of web-based PrEP documents, stratified by how the PrEP document was obtained on the web, information source, document format and communication method, PrEP modality, and intended audience. METHODS: Web-based PrEP information in English was systematically identified using search engines and the Twitter API. We manually verified and categorized results and described the method used to obtain information, information source, document format and communication method, PrEP modality, and intended audience. Documents were converted to plain text for the analysis and readability of the collected documents was assessed using 4 readability indices. We conducted pairwise comparisons of readability based on how the PrEP document was obtained on the web, information source, document format, communication method, PrEP modality, and intended audience, then adjusted for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: A total of 463 documents were identified. Overall, the readability of web-based PrEP information was at a higher level (10.2-grade reading level) than what is recommended for health information provided to the general public (ninth-grade reading level, as suggested by the Department of Health and Human Services). Brochures (n=33, 7% of all identified resources) were the only type of PrEP materials that achieved the target of ninth-grade reading level. CONCLUSIONS: Web-based PrEP information is often written at a complex level for potential and current PrEP users to understand. This may hinder PrEP uptake for some people who would benefit from it. The readability of PrEP-related information found on the web should be improved to align more closely with health communication guidelines for reading level to improve access to this important health information, facilitate informed decisions by those with a need for PrEP, and realize national prevention goals for PrEP uptake and reducing new HIV infections in the United States. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10507523 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | JMIR Publications |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-105075232023-09-20 Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis Park, Albert Sayed, Fatima Robinson, Patrick Elopre, Latesha Ge, Yaorong Li, Shaoyu Grov, Christian Sullivan, Patrick Sean JMIR Public Health Surveill Original Paper BACKGROUND: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is proven to prevent HIV infection. However, PrEP uptake to date has been limited and inequitable. Analyzing the readability of existing PrEP-related information is important to understand the potential impact of available PrEP information on PrEP uptake and identify opportunities to improve PrEP-related education and communication. OBJECTIVE: We examined the readability of web-based PrEP information identified using search engines and on Twitter. We investigated the readability of web-based PrEP documents, stratified by how the PrEP document was obtained on the web, information source, document format and communication method, PrEP modality, and intended audience. METHODS: Web-based PrEP information in English was systematically identified using search engines and the Twitter API. We manually verified and categorized results and described the method used to obtain information, information source, document format and communication method, PrEP modality, and intended audience. Documents were converted to plain text for the analysis and readability of the collected documents was assessed using 4 readability indices. We conducted pairwise comparisons of readability based on how the PrEP document was obtained on the web, information source, document format, communication method, PrEP modality, and intended audience, then adjusted for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: A total of 463 documents were identified. Overall, the readability of web-based PrEP information was at a higher level (10.2-grade reading level) than what is recommended for health information provided to the general public (ninth-grade reading level, as suggested by the Department of Health and Human Services). Brochures (n=33, 7% of all identified resources) were the only type of PrEP materials that achieved the target of ninth-grade reading level. CONCLUSIONS: Web-based PrEP information is often written at a complex level for potential and current PrEP users to understand. This may hinder PrEP uptake for some people who would benefit from it. The readability of PrEP-related information found on the web should be improved to align more closely with health communication guidelines for reading level to improve access to this important health information, facilitate informed decisions by those with a need for PrEP, and realize national prevention goals for PrEP uptake and reducing new HIV infections in the United States. JMIR Publications 2023-09-04 /pmc/articles/PMC10507523/ /pubmed/37665621 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/48630 Text en ©Albert Park, Fatima Sayed, Patrick Robinson, Latesha Elopre, Yaorong Ge, Shaoyu Li, Christian Grov, Patrick Sean Sullivan. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org), 04.09.2023. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://publichealth.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. |
spellingShingle | Original Paper Park, Albert Sayed, Fatima Robinson, Patrick Elopre, Latesha Ge, Yaorong Li, Shaoyu Grov, Christian Sullivan, Patrick Sean Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis |
title | Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis |
title_full | Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis |
title_fullStr | Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis |
title_full_unstemmed | Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis |
title_short | Health Information on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis From Search Engines and Twitter: Readability Analysis |
title_sort | health information on pre-exposure prophylaxis from search engines and twitter: readability analysis |
topic | Original Paper |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10507523/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37665621 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/48630 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT parkalbert healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis AT sayedfatima healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis AT robinsonpatrick healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis AT eloprelatesha healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis AT geyaorong healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis AT lishaoyu healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis AT grovchristian healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis AT sullivanpatricksean healthinformationonpreexposureprophylaxisfromsearchenginesandtwitterreadabilityanalysis |