These authors sought to assess the source, quality, accuracy, and completeness of Internet-based information for shoulder arthritis.
They performed a web search using three common Internet search engines and analyzed the top 50 sites from each search. Information sources were categorized into academic, commercial, non-profit, and physician sites. Information quality was measured using the Health On the Net (HON) Foundation principles (transparency and honesty, authority, privacy and data protection, updating of information, accountability, accessibility), content accuracy by counting factual errors and completeness using a custom template.
After removal of duplicates and sites that did not provide an overview of shoulder arthritis, 49 websites remained for analysis.
The majority of sites were from commercial (n = 16, 33%) and physician (n = 16, 33%) sources. An additional 12 sites (24%) were from an academic institution and five sites (10%) were from a non-profit organization.
Commercial sites had the highest number of errors, with a five-fold likelihood of containing an error compared to an academic site.
Non-profit sites had the highest HON scores, with an average of 9.6 points on a 16-point scale.
The completeness score was highest for academic sites, with an average score of 19.2 ± 6.7 (maximum score of 49 points); other information sources had lower scores (commercial, 15.2 ± 2.9; non-profit, 18.7 ± 6.8; physician, 16.6 ± 6.3).
The top rated sites are shown below
The authors concluded that patient information on the Internet regarding shoulder arthritis is of mixed accuracy, quality, and completeness. Surgeons should actively direct patients to higher-quality Internet sources.
Comment: As the authors point out in their introduction, "Internet growth and popularity over the past two decades has required healthcare to evolve in many ways. Traditional methods of disseminating medical information (i.e., pamphlets from local healthcare providers) have been largely replaced by websites. This expansion of health information available on the Internet has continued at an accelerated pace. The search engine Google yields over 21 million results when the search term “arthritis” is entered. The unregulated format of the Internet provides opportunity for any source to publish health-related information regardless of validity and veracity.
Recent surveys have found that nearly 81% of U.S. adults use the Internet and, of those, 72% reported searching for health-related information online. Many patients choose the Internet as their initial source for information to evaluate medical conditions before deciding whether or not to seek a physician. Consequently, the quality and informational content on the Internet has the capacity to substantially impact patient health outcomes."
Recent surveys have found that nearly 81% of U.S. adults use the Internet and, of those, 72% reported searching for health-related information online. Many patients choose the Internet as their initial source for information to evaluate medical conditions before deciding whether or not to seek a physician. Consequently, the quality and informational content on the Internet has the capacity to substantially impact patient health outcomes."
One of the aspects of Internet content not assessed in this paper is the presence of conflict of interest among the authors of the site. We respectfully suggest that each site should clearly display the authors' disclosures so that the reader will understand the presence of industrial ties that may influence the material presented.
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How you can support progress in shoulder surgery
You may be interested in some of our most visited web pages including:shoulder arthritis, total shoulder, ream and run, reverse total shoulder, CTA arthroplasty, and rotator cuff surgery as well as the 'ream and run essentials'
Use the "Search" box to the right to find other topics of interest to you.
How you can support progress in shoulder surgery
You may be interested in some of our most visited web pages including:shoulder arthritis, total shoulder, ream and run, reverse total shoulder, CTA arthroplasty, and rotator cuff surgery as well as the 'ream and run essentials'
