Gastroenterology Research, ISSN 1918-2805 print, 1918-2813 online, Open Access
Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, Gastroenterol Res and Elmer Press Inc
Journal website http://www.gastrores.org

Original Article

Volume 10, Number 1, February 2017, pages 1-5

Readability of Healthcare Literature for Gastroparesis and Evaluation of Medical Terminology in Reading Difficulty

Figure

Figure 1.
Figure 1. Reading level for gastroparesis online resources. The average grade level of the content from the 26 web resources with designated standard deviations. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), American Diabetes Association (ADA), Arizona Digestive Health (ADH), Barnes Jewish Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, Gastroparesis Patient Association for Cures and Treatments (G-PACT), Healthline, Indiana University Health, Intermountain Healthcare, International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD), John Hopkins Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Medical College of Wisconsin, MedicineNet, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD), National Organization of Rare Disorders (NORD), Temple University Hospital, The American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), The University of Arizona Medical Center (ANMS), University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF Medical Center), University of Maryland Medical Center (UMD), University of Southern California (USC), WebMD, and Western Sydney University.

Table

Table 1. Readability Grading Algorithms [9-18]
 
Readability testFormula
Automated readability index (ARI) [10, 11]Grade level = 0.50 (W/S) + 4.71 (ST/W) - 21.43
ST = letters, symbols and punctuation marks included (similar to total characters); S = total sentence count; W = total word count
Bormuth grade placement test [11]R = 0.886593 - 0.083640 (L/W) + 0.161911 (DLL/W)3 - 0.021401 (W/S) + 0.000577 (W/S)2 - 0.000005 (W/S)3
R = mean cloze score; LET = total letters; W = total words; DLL = Dale long list words; S = total sentences
Coleman-Liau index (CLI) [12]CLI = (0.0588 × L) - (0.296 × S) - 15.8
L = average number of letters per 100 words; S = average number of sentences per 100 words
Flesch-Kincaid (FRE) [13]FKGL = (0.39 × W/SE) + (11.8 × SY/W) - 15.59
W = total words; SE = total sentences; SY = total syllables
FORCAST [11]Grade level = 20 - (N/10)
N = number of single syllable words in a 150-word sample
Fry graph [14]1) Select three 100-word passages from the beginning, middle and end.
2) Sentences are counted in each passage and estimated to the nearest tenth and calculate the average.
3) Count the total number of syllables in each 100-word passage and calculate the average.
4) Plot on the graph for determination of reading grade level.
Gunning Fog [15]Grade level = 0.4 × (W/S + 100 (C/W))
W = total words; S = total sentences; C = complex words (words with more than two syllables)
New Dale-Chall [16]NDC = 0.1579 PC + 0.0496 (W/S) + 3.6365
PC = percentage of complex words (words not on Dale-Chall word list); W = total words; S = total sentences
Raygor estimate graph [17]1) Select three 100-word passages from the beginning, middle and end.
2) Sentences are counted in each passage and estimated to the nearest tenth.
3) Words with six or more letters are counted.
4) The averages of the number of sentences and word length is plotted on the graph Raygor estimate graph.
SMOG readability formula (SMOG) [9, 18]SMOG = 1.043 × √ (30 × (C/S) + 3.1291)
C = number of words with greater than two syllables; S = total sentences