Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Eskişehir Türk dünyası uygulama ve araştırma merkezi halk sağlığı dergisi (Online), cilt.7, sa.2, ss.291-300, 2022 (Hakemli Dergi)
Informative texts on the websites may make positive contributions to patient-physician communication and patients' compliance. The readability and comprehensibility of the information resources on the Internet is as important as the content, accuracy, and reliability. Access to accurate and understandable resources for individuals who want to learn about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will play an important role in the management of ASD. In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the contents and readability of information texts presented on Turkish websites about ASD. A total of 400 websites were evaluated in Google search using the keywords "autism, autism spectrum disorder, autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder". The average readability level was analyzed using the Ateşman and Bezirci-Yılmaz readability formulas. The text contents were divided into two groups as "websites prepared by healthcare professionals" and "websites prepared by non-health professionals" and compared. Forty-three websites were eligible for evaluation. The readability level of the websites is “difficult” according to the Ateşman formula; According to the Bezirci-Yılmaz formula, it was found to be "undergraduate level". The percentage of content of all evaluated websites (n=43) was found to be 65.12±22.71. The content percentage of the websites prepared by health professionals was 81.18±19.32, and the content percentage of websites prepared by non-healthcare professionals was 42.00±3.94 (p=0.001). Access to health information on the Internet has a critical value for individuals with chronic diseases and their family. Early diagnosis of children with ASD and access to early intensive intervention have an important place in the prognosis of the disorder. The readability and comprehensibility of the texts on websites, which are the first source of reference for most families, may contribute to the management.