Quality of internet-based decision aids for shoulder arthritis: what are patients reading?

Abstract

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to assess the source, quality, accuracy, and completeness of Internet-based information for shoulder arthritis.MethodsA web search was performed using three common Internet search engines and the top 50 sites from each search were analyzed. 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, content accuracy by counting factual errors and completeness using a custom template.ResultsAfter 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).ConclusionsPatient information on the Internet regarding shoulder arthritis is of mixed accuracy, quality, and completeness. Surgeons should actively direct patients to higher-quality Internet sources.

The Quality and Content of Internet-Based Information on Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Requires Improvement: A Systematic Review

“…Among the included studies, Google (86%), 5 , 12 , 14 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 Bing (76%), 5 , 14 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 and Yahoo (76%) 5 , 14 , 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 were the most commonly assessed search engines and were used for both website and image searches ( Appendix Table 1 ).…”

“…Somerson et al. 28 specifically considered source accuracy based on website type. They found that commercial websites had the most errors.…”

“…Seven studies reported on the HON foundational principles. 14,17,20,23,27,28,31 The average percentage of websites with HON certifications was 17.79%. Two studies searched Ask.…”

“…Of these studies, 21 met the inclusion criteria. 4,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Table 1 details the 21 included studies published between 2010 and 2020 that met the inclusion criteria. 5,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] All of the studies were descriptive or evaluative given the nature of the topic being discussed (Table 1).…”

“…Most of the media files assessed were physician affiliated (25%), followed by news or other (15%) and industry or commercial (15%) (Appendix Table 2). Somerson et al 28 specifically considered source accuracy based on website type. They found that commercial websites had the most errors.…”