The quality of online consumer health information at the intersection of complementary and alternative medicine and arthritis

Abstract

Background Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is prevalent among patients living with arthritis. Such patients often seek information online, for the purpose of gaining a second opinion to their healthcare provider or even self-medication. Little is known about the quality of web-based consumer health information at the intersection of CAM and arthritis; thus, investigating the quality of websites containing this information was the purpose of this study. Methods Four unique search terms were searched on Google across four English-speaking countries. We assessed the first 20 results of each search, including them if they contained CAM consumer health information for the treatment and/or management of arthritis. Eligible websites were assessed in duplicate using the DISCERN instrument, which consists of 16-items designed to assess quality. Results Of total of 320 webpages, 239 were duplicates, and a total of 38 unique websites were deemed eligible and assessed using the DISCERN instrument. The mean summed DISCERN scores across all websites was 55.53 (SD = 9.37). The mean score of the overall quality of each website was 3.71 (SD = 0.63), thus the majority of websites are ranked as slightly above ‘fair’ quality. Conclusion Eligible websites generally received scores better than ‘moderate’ in terms of overall quality. Several shortcomings included a lack of transparency surrounding references used and underreporting of risks associated with treatment options. These results suggest that health providers should be vigilant of the variable quality of information their patients may be accessing online and educate them on how to identify high quality resources.

Dietary and herbal supplements for fatigue: A quality assessment of online consumer health information

“…Similarly published studies have used the DISCERN instrument to assess websites that provided health information about other conditions, including back pain 19 , 20 , anxiety disorders 21 , chronic pain 22 , arthritis 23 , gastrointestinal diseases 24 , and postherpetic neuralgia 25 . One study specifically used the DISCERN instrument to assess the quality of websites that provided information about DHSs for cancer 11 .…”

Quality of complementary and alternative medicine information for type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional survey and quality assessment of websites

“…They found that consumers that use online resources to collect information about non-prescription and complementary medicines had insufficient access to reliable information and were unable to make informed health decisions about the medications they sought [24]. Three additional studies assessed the quality of online consumer health information at the intersection of CAM and low back pain, arthritis, and neck pain, respectively using the DISCERN instrument, finding that the quality of information was variable across different websites [25][26][27].…”

Predictive factors of diagnostic and therapeutic divergence in a nationwide cohort of patients seeking second medical opinion

“…As patients are expected to feel better informed after an SMO, it has been argued that the possibility of this re-examination is part of the new patient-centric medical paradigm [ 32 , 33 ]. It should be noted that patients increasingly rely on written material available online to get a SMO regarding their diagnosis rather than on health professionals [ 34 , 35 ].…”