Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study.
<h4>Background</h4>In Italy, abortion services are public: therefore, health Institutions should provide clear and easily readable web-based information. We aimed to 1) assess variation in abortion services utilisation; 2) analyse the readability of institutional websites informing on in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277342 |
| _version_ | 1811231031514103808 |
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| author | Amerigo Ferrari Luca Pirrotta Manila Bonciani Giulia Venturi Milena Vainieri |
| author_facet | Amerigo Ferrari Luca Pirrotta Manila Bonciani Giulia Venturi Milena Vainieri |
| author_sort | Amerigo Ferrari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>In Italy, abortion services are public: therefore, health Institutions should provide clear and easily readable web-based information. We aimed to 1) assess variation in abortion services utilisation; 2) analyse the readability of institutional websites informing on induced abortion; 3) explore whether easier-to-read institutional websites influenced the correct fruition of abortion services.<h4>Methods</h4>We identified from the 2021 administrative databases of Tuscany all women having an abortion, and-among them-women having an abortion with the certification provided by family counselling centres, following the pathway established by law. We assessed variation in total and certified abortion rates by computing the Systematic Component of Variation. We analysed the readability of the Tuscan health authorities' websites using the readability assessment tool READ-IT. We explored how institutional website readability influenced the odds of having certified abortions by running multilevel logistic models, considering health authorities as the highest-level variables.<h4>Results</h4>We observed high variation in the correct utilization of the abortion pathway in terms of certified abortion rates. The READ-IT scores showed that the most readable text was from the Florence Teaching Hospital website. Multilevel models revealed that higher READ-IT scores, corresponding to more difficult texts, resulted in lower odds of certified abortions.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Large variation in the proper fruition of abortion pathways occurs in Tuscany, and such variation may depend on readability of institutional websites informing on induced abortion. Therefore, health Institutions should monitor and improve the readability of their websites to ensure proper and more equitable access to abortion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:39:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66980f404d3c4f66875147fc03802eda |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:39:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-66980f404d3c4f66875147fc03802eda2022-12-22T03:36:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011711e027734210.1371/journal.pone.0277342Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study.Amerigo FerrariLuca PirrottaManila BoncianiGiulia VenturiMilena Vainieri<h4>Background</h4>In Italy, abortion services are public: therefore, health Institutions should provide clear and easily readable web-based information. We aimed to 1) assess variation in abortion services utilisation; 2) analyse the readability of institutional websites informing on induced abortion; 3) explore whether easier-to-read institutional websites influenced the correct fruition of abortion services.<h4>Methods</h4>We identified from the 2021 administrative databases of Tuscany all women having an abortion, and-among them-women having an abortion with the certification provided by family counselling centres, following the pathway established by law. We assessed variation in total and certified abortion rates by computing the Systematic Component of Variation. We analysed the readability of the Tuscan health authorities' websites using the readability assessment tool READ-IT. We explored how institutional website readability influenced the odds of having certified abortions by running multilevel logistic models, considering health authorities as the highest-level variables.<h4>Results</h4>We observed high variation in the correct utilization of the abortion pathway in terms of certified abortion rates. The READ-IT scores showed that the most readable text was from the Florence Teaching Hospital website. Multilevel models revealed that higher READ-IT scores, corresponding to more difficult texts, resulted in lower odds of certified abortions.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Large variation in the proper fruition of abortion pathways occurs in Tuscany, and such variation may depend on readability of institutional websites informing on induced abortion. Therefore, health Institutions should monitor and improve the readability of their websites to ensure proper and more equitable access to abortion.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277342 |
| spellingShingle | Amerigo Ferrari Luca Pirrotta Manila Bonciani Giulia Venturi Milena Vainieri Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE |
| title | Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study. |
| title_full | Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study. |
| title_fullStr | Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study. |
| title_short | Higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway: A cross-sectional study. |
| title_sort | higher readability of institutional websites drives the correct fruition of the abortion pathway a cross sectional study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277342 |
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