Qualitative Assessment of Quality and Readability of Patient-Directed Arabic Online Resources for Cochlear Implants in Children

<b>Objective</b> To assess the readability and quality of various websites providing information on cochlear implantation (CI) in children in Arabic. <b>Methods</b> The present is a cross-sectional online search. We conducted searches in the Arab language using the three most popular search engines, Yahoo, Google, and Bing, to search the topics of "cochlear implant" and "cochlear implant in children." The information quality was evaluated through the DISCERN tool, while readability was examined using the OSMAN readability tool, which incorporated two readability metrics: the automated readability index (ARI) and the Läsbarhetsindex (LIX, reliability index). <b>Results</b> In a study of 50 websites, the median Discerning the Quality of Information on Treatment Choices (DISCERN) quality score was 38, with an interquartile range (IQR) of 29 to 46, suggesting poor quality. Out of the 50 websites evaluated, only 10 were deemed to be of good quality. The median readability ARI was 8th grade (IQR: 6-9), which considered above the level of general population. Certain websites were found to be at or below the suggested 6th grade reading proficiency level. The median LIX was of 69 (IQR: 64-71), indicating that the text is very difficult. There was no correlation between readability and the DISCERN score. <b>Conclusions</b> Our results suggest that many websites offering information on CIs for children in Arabic exhibit varying levels of quality and are composed in language surpassing the general population's reading ability. Developers should focus on improving the readability of their online content to ensure that the average reader can understand and benefit from the information.