Submissions:2016/Health Literacy of Wikipedia

Title

Assessing Health Literacy: Readability of Health Content on Wikipedia

Theme

Healthcare & Science

Academic Peer Review option

Yes

Type of submission

Presentation

Author

Manjot Kaur

E-mail address

mbkaur@pnwu.edu

Username

Manjotk

Affiliation

Abstract

A public health and social factor that greatly impacts the outcomes of an individual’s health is health literacy. It refers to an individual’s ability to understand health information in an effort to make informed decisions. In a survey conducted in 2010, 60% of adults reported that their doctor explained things so they could understand them. This requires us to think about the other 40% of the adult population and the potential negative health outcomes associated with not understanding their doctor. Many of these patients turn to Wikipedia to get information about their health condition. However, the information provided by Wikipedia may not be easily read or understood by the general public. The average American reading level is between 7th-8th grade but the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recommends that health material be written at 4th-5th grade reading level. The readability calculator suggested by Wikipedia was used to analyze the reading level of three different articles on the leading causes of death in 2015. The reading levels of the lead section for heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory disease (specifically COPD) were 11th grade, 10th grade, and 10th grade, respectively. In addition, the readability of the second section for each article was also analyzed and showed a readability of 16th grade, 12th grade, and 10th grade for heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory disease (specifically COPD), respectively. The reading level, or health literacy level, required to read these articles is clearly above the average American reading level and the CDC&P recommendation. Thus, the health content on Wikipedia requires attention and may need to be marked as being too “technical” for the average reader. Decreasing the health literacy of the health content would aid Wikipedia in effectively reaching a greater number of readers to provide information that is understandable. Since a great number of individuals refer to Wikipedia for accurate health information, it has the potential to be used as a tool for public health communication to raise awareness about important health topics. How can we better incorporate public health and other social factors, such as poverty, into Wikipedia's health content?

Length of presentation

30 minutes

Special schedule requests

Cannot present on Monday, October 10th

Preferred room size

30

Will you attend WikiConference North America if your submission is not accepted?

Yes

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