Readability and understandability of online patient education on semaglutide

ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the readability of online information about semaglutide while also assessing understandability and quality.MethodsOzempic, Wegovy, and 'semaglutide' were individually searched. The non-sponsored results on the first five pages for each search were screened. The text from the included links were evaluated by two researchers for readability using SMOG and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), for understandability using Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and for quality using DISCERN. A statistician ran reports for medians, interquartile ranges, and frequency statistics.Results61 links met evaluation criteria. Median scores for SMOG and FRE were 13th grade level and College. Fewer than 10% were at or below the recommended reading grade level. The median score of PEMAT was 62%. The median overall score of DISCERN was 4 out of 5.ConclusionsMost education available online about semaglutide medications is not written at the recommended reading level. Patient education on semaglutide needs to be rewritten to be at the recommended 8th grade reading level.