Readability Analysis of Indian Diabetic Association Website and Other Health Related Websites on Information Related to Diabetic Diet

Patients use the Internet to educate themselves about health related topics. Endocrinologists and diabetologists in India and worldwide are more concerned about educating their patients regarding diabetic diet. Hence in particular diabetic patients give lot of preference for diet related articles in media. The usefulness of health related education materials on the internet depends largely on their Readability, Comprehensibility and Understandability. According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) (1) Diabetic Atlas, 382 million people had diabetes with in the year 2013 and this number is estimated to rise to 592 million by the year 2035.Due to its many complications and available treatments, it is one of the most common diseases for which health care providers and patients seek education and guidance. This study done to evaluate Readability of patient education materials related to diabetic diet from the Indian Diabetic Association website www.diabetesindia.com and compare the similar topics from five most popular health information providing sites. www.nlm.nih.gov, www.webmd.com, www.msn.com, www.about.com, www.medicinenet.com . Tools used for Readability of selected website data are: Gunning Fog index (GFI), Coleman?Liau index (CLI), The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Automated Readability Index (ARI), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook index (SMOG) and The Flesch Reading Ease (FRE).It was found that Indian website is good at readability when compared to other popular health information providing websites. Patient education materials provided on Indian Diabetic Association website written at recommended reading grade levels and ensures Readable and Comprehensible to their audience.