The effect of heading frequency on comprehension of online information

This paper describes a Web-based study that examines the effect of heading frequency on comprehension, anxiety levels of patients, and perceptions of ease of use of an educational medical Web site. The study focuses on arthritis patients using content from a naturally occurring Web site that was adapted for this study. We expect that more headings will result in higher comprehension and that as comprehension increases, anxiety will decrease. Data are still being collected; results are presented.