Table 3.

Website coding criteria

Coding Category			Example
General website characteristics
	Organ site		Breast
	Type of affiliation		Educational institution
	Accessibility to lay audiences
		Intended audience	Lay people
		Contains undefined terminology	Biopsy
		Non-English version	Spanish
Risk communication strategies
	Words		“Your risk is low.”
	Numbers		“Your risk is 2%.”
	Format of numeric information		Percent, frequency (n in 1000), frequency (1 in N)
	Absolute risk		“Your risk is low.” OR “Your risk is 2%.”
	Comparative risk (other people)		“Your risk is higher than average.”
	Comparative risk (other hazards)		“Your risk of getting cancer is 12%. The risk of being injured in a car accident is 10%.”
	Positive framing		“Your risk is 2 in 100. Your chances of not getting cancer are 98 in 100.”
	Duration of risk		“Your 5-year risk is...”
	Safety message/Risk reduction strategy		“Stop smoking.”
	Visual display		Bar graph, Line graph, Table
	Acknowledges uncertainty		“Just because you’re at high risk doesn’t mean you’ll definitely get cancer.” OR “This estimate is based on information obtained from the population and your actual risk might be different.”
Quality evaluation elements
	Information about the statistical model		“This website uses the Gail Model.”
	Peer-reviewed citation		“Harvard Report on Cancer Prevention, Volume IV: Harvard Cancer Risk Index, Cancer Causes and Control, Volume 11:477-488, 2000.”