Table 2.
Readability Statistics
| PEM database | Micromedex | MedlinePlus | EBSCO | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readability Index | Flesch–Kincaid | Gunning Fog | SMOG | Flesch–Kincaid | Gunning Fog | SMOG | Flesch–Kincaid | Gunning Fog | SMOG |
| Mean Grade Reading Level (SD) | 7.7 (0.8) | 8.6 (0.9) | 9.4 (0.7) | 8.5 (1.6) | 10.2 (1.9) | 10.4 (1.3) | 8.4 (1.0) | 9.7 (1.3) | 9.7 (0.7) |
| % PEMs above 8th Grade Level | 31% | 74% | 96% | 63% | 90% | 98% | 68% | 89% | 100% |
| Average # of Grades Above Target Readability | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Grade Level Range | 5–9 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 5–14 | 6–17 | 8–15 | 6–11 | 7–13 | 8–12 |
* PEM = patient education materials
† SD = standard deviation