Readability and understandability of online patient education on semaglutide

Mar 25, 2026Health informatics journal

How Easy Online Patient Information About Semaglutide Is to Understand

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Abstract

Median readability scores for online information about semaglutide were at a 13th grade level.

Fewer than 10% of evaluated links were at or below the recommended reading grade level.
The median understandability score, measured by the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool, was 62%.
The overall quality score, assessed using the DISCERN tool, averaged 4 out of 5.
Most online educational resources about semaglutide require rewriting to meet the recommended 8th grade reading level.

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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.

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Readability and understandability of online patient education on semaglutide

Abstract

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