Comparing quality and readability of online English language information to patient use and perspectives for common rheumatologic conditions

AbstractEvaluate quality and readability of online information for common rheumatologic diseases. Compare rheumatology patients ’ internet use and preferences to an objective evaluation of internet quality and readability. Five common rheumatologic diseases were searched on the web browser Google using English language. The first twenty websites from each of the five searches were evaluated for internet quality (e.g. conte nt that is current, balanced, has specific aims, and is appropriately cited) using the DISCERN criteria and readability using the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). The results were contrasted with a survey sent to patients with rheumatic disease. The survey measured patient likeliness to use and trust identified websites. Internet quality was similar (good) for all five diseases searched while readability was poor. There was an inverse relationship between internet quality and readability. Internet quality significantly differed across website sponsor, and readability significantly differed across disease and website sponsor. Common medical website sponsors with the highest combined quality and readability scores were Mayo Clinic and Web MD. Eight hundred and fifty-eight patients were sent a survey, of which 147 (17%) completed. Patients indicated they were most likely to use and trus t a Mayo Clinic-sponsored website when compared to other common sponsored websites from our evaluation, followed by the American College of Rheumatology. Although we foun...
Source: Rheumatology International - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research