Evaluation of the accuracy of the information on websites about visceral leishmaniasis: a strategy for countering information disorder

Abstract

New Information and Communication Technologies are increasingly present in the daily lives of people and institutions globally. The information they convey may need to be updated, complete, correct, or deliberately untrue. We live in a context of information mayhem. Health-related information like this can harm individuals and society. Some alternatives have been put forward to address this issue. This article discusses how online health information quality assessment and website certification can serve in confronting information disorder. It presents a methodology for assessing the accuracy of online information following the updated and scientifically proven information from evidence-based medicine. It analyzes the case of visceral leishmaniasis: one of the most prevalent neglected diseases in the world. Following this method, a tool with indicators was built, and the websites of international non-governmental organizations and the Ministries of Health of Brazil and India were evaluated. The results show that all the evaluated websites obtained at most 50% compliance with the indicators used.