Figure. Reading Level and Word Count of 257 US Lung Cancer Screening Program Websites.

Reading levels were assessed as the mean of 5 validated readability scores (Flesch-Kincaid score,²² Gunning-Fog index,²³ Coleman-Liau formula,²⁴ SMOG [Simple Measure of Gobbledygook],²⁵ and Automated Readability Index²⁶). A, The horizontal line indicates the grade 6 reading level recommended by the American Medical Association for medical literature for patients.²⁷ B, Word counts were tabulated for the relevant portions of each website. Each dot indicates a website. The middle line indicates the median; the lower box end, the lower quartile; the upper box end, the upper quartile; the lower whisker, minimum excluding outliers; and the upper whisker, maximum excluding outliers.