How easy is it to read tinnitus-related webpages in Japanese?

Purpose: To assess the readability of online tinnitus-related information in the Japanese language. This thesis also aimed to assess the quality of this information using the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode) certification. Method: Websites were selected by entering 5 key search terms, identified by native Japanese speakers, into the Japanese ccTLD (country code top-level domain) versions of two search engines: Google (google.co.jp) and Yahoo! (yahoo.co.jp). The first 10 webpages generated by each search term were matched against the inclusion and exclusion criteria, producing 23 unique webpages once duplicates were removed. Webpage information, such as the type of organisation, the location of the webpage host, and the presence or lack of HONcode certification, were recorded. Part 1 of this study assessed the webpages’ readability using the jReadability formula. Part 2 assessed the quality of these webpages. Results: Only two of the 23 webpages had a jReadability level below the recommended Upper-intermediate level. The webpages had a mean readability score of 2.48 or Lower-advanced, suggesting that readers require eight years of education to read and understand this material. Webpage quality could not be assessed as only one website held HONcode certification. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the vast majority of online tinnitus- related information in Japanese is written at significantly higher readability levels than the recommended sixth grade reading level. This suggests that online tinnitus- related information in Japanese is generally difficult to read and is therefore inaccessible to the average reader. For this reason, audiologists and medical professionals must be made aware of the health literacy issues faced by the general population when recommending or supplying healthcare information