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Objective: Accessible, high-quality online health information is essential for patient under standing, particularly in specialized fields such as pediatric neurology. However, little is known about the readability and quality of Turkish-language online resources in this area. To evaluate the readability and quality of Turkish online educational materials on pediatric neurology using validated readability formulas and standardized quality assessment criteria.
Materials and Methods: An Internet-based Patient Educational Material search was con ducted using Google with the terms “çocuk nöroloji” /''child neurology'' and “pediatrik nöroloji”/''pediatric neurology''. After applying exclusion criteria, 69 websites were included. These websites were categorized into 2 groups: Group 1 (academic and hospital websites) and Group 2 (physician and general health information websites). Readability was assessed using the Ateşman and Bezirci-Yılmaz formulas, while website quality was evaluated using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria.
Results: The median Ateşman Readability Score was 36.63, and the Bezirci-Yılmaz score was 7.04, indicating difficult readability. Only 13.04% of websites met ≥3 JAMA criteria and were classified as high quality. Group 2 (physician and general health information websites) had significantly higher quality scores than Group 1 (academic and hospital websites) (P < .001). No significant differences were found between groups in terms of readability.
Conclusion: Most Turkish-language pediatric neurology websites are difficult to read and of low quality. Quality was higher in non-academic sources, although readability remained inadequate across all sources. These findings underscore the need for developing readable and high-quality online educational materials in pediatric neurology to enhance public under standing and informed health decisions.
Cite this article as: Sargın F, Alçı M, Aydemir BK, Şahin S, Çaksen H, Güven AS. Evaluation of the readability and quality of online Turkish materials in the field of pediatric neurology. Turk Arch Pediatr. Published online December 29, 2025. doi:10.5152/TurkArchPediatr.2025.25337.