The effect of source credibility on consumers' perceptions of the quality of health information on the Internet

BACKGROUND The Internet can increase the accessibility of mental health information and improve the mental health literacy of older adults. The quality of mental health information on the Internet can be inaccurate or biased, leading to misinformation OBJECTIVE This study’s objectives were to evaluate the quality, usability, and readability of websites providing information concerning depression in later life. METHODS Websites were identified through a Google search, and evaluated by assessing quality (DISCERN), usability (Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool; PEMAT) and readability (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook; SMOG). RESULTS The overall quality of late-life depression websites (N = 19) was moderate, usability was low, and readability was poor. No significant relationship was found between quality and readability of websites. CONCLUSIONS Websites can be improved by enhancing information quality, usability, and readability related to late-life depression. The use of high-quality websites may improve mental health literacy and shared treatment decision-making for older adults.

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Quality of Health Information on the Internet

Handbook of Research on Distributed Medical Informatics and E-Health ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-002-8.ch031 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 443-455

Author(s):

Kleopatra Alamantariotou

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Information Quality ◽

Relevant Information ◽

The Internet ◽

High Quality ◽

Related Information ◽

Health Related ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Effective Use

Recent statistics show that the World Wide Web has now grown to over 100 million sites: a phenomenal expansion in only 15 years (Mulligan 2007). It has been estimated that there are 100,000 sites offering health related information (Wilson 2002). As the amount of health information increases, the public find it increasingly difficult to decide what to accept and what to reject (Burgess 2007). Searching for information on the internet is both deceptively easy and the same time frustratingly difficult (Kiley 2002). The challenge for consumers is to find high quality, relevant information as quickly as possible. There has been ongoing debate about the quality of information aimed at patients and the general public and opinions differ on how it can be improved (Stepperd 1999). The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the different perspectives on information quality and to review the main criteria for assessing the quality of health information on the internet. Pointers are provided to enable both clinicians and patients find high quality information sources. An understanding of these issues should help health professionals and patients to make effective use of the internet.

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Web-Based Information for Patients and Providers

Advances in Medical Technologies and Clinical Practice - Impacts of Information Technology on Patient Care and Empowerment ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-0047-7.ch002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 19-33

Author(s):

Izabella Lejbkowicz

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Web Sites ◽

Information Technologies ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Health Information ◽

World Population ◽

Web Based ◽

Access To Health ◽

The Impact

The exponential development of Information Technologies revolutionized healthcare. A significant aspect of this revolution is the access to health information in the Internet. The Internet World Stats estimates that 56.8% of the world population used the Internet in March 2019, an increase of 1,066% from 2000. According to The Pew Research Center survey of 2012 81% of Americans used the internet and 72% of them searched for health information. Even though there is a lack in more recent data on the percentage of online health information seekers, it is clear that this trend is on the rise. This chapter focuses on the characteristics of the search for online health information by patients and providers, investigates features related to the quality of health web sites, and discusses the impact of these searches on healthcare.

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An evaluation of YouTube in disseminating dementia knowledge to older Chinese in Britain

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610218000224 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (10) ◽

pp. 1575-1575 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Benjamin K.P. Woo

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Health Information ◽

General Public ◽

Chinese Immigrants ◽

Normal Aging ◽

The Internet ◽

Age Group ◽

Youtube Videos ◽

Older Chinese

Chinese immigrants may dismiss pathological decline of dementia as part of normal aging (Woo and Mehta, 2017). While the internet may be a source of health information for Chinese immigrants, the quality of online dementia information was lower in Chinese than in English (Tsiang and Woo, 2017). Recent studies have demonstrated feasibility of YouTube videos in disseminating health information to the Chinese-speaking general public (Lam et al., 2017; Zheng and Woo, 2017). Therefore, we evaluated the performance of YouTube in targeting Chinese-speaking individuals in Britain who are in the high risk age group (e.g. aged 55 years and above) of developing dementia.

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Partial Nephrectomy Online: A Preliminary Evaluation of the Quality of Health Information on the Internet

BJU International ◽

10.1111/j.1464-410x.2012.11627.x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 110 (11b) ◽

pp. E770-E770

Author(s):

Ithaar H. Derweesh

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Partial Nephrectomy ◽

The Internet ◽

Preliminary Evaluation

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Problems concerning the Quality of the Health Information on the Internet.

Igaku Toshokan ◽

10.7142/igakutoshokan.48.155 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 155-161

Author(s):

Hiroaki MITANI ◽

Haruyuki TATSUMI ◽

Yasuo HARUKI ◽

Youichi OGUSHI

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

The Internet

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You Get What You Pay for on Health Care Question and Answer Platforms: Nonparticipant Observational Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/13534 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. e13534

Author(s):

Fatemeh Ameri ◽

Kathleen Keeling ◽

Reza Salehnejad

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

The Internet ◽

Design Features ◽

High Quality ◽

Platform Design ◽

Web Based ◽

Health Advice ◽

Quality Health ◽

Advice Quality

Background Seeking health information on the internet is very popular despite the debatable ability of lay users to evaluate the quality of health information and uneven quality of information available on the Web. Consulting the internet for health information is pervasive, particularly when other sources are inaccessible because of time, distance, and money constraints or when sensitive or embarrassing questions are to be explored. Question and answer (Q&A) platforms are Web-based services that provide personalized health advice upon the information seekers’ request. However, it is not clear how the quality of health advices is ensured on these platforms. Objective The objective of this study was to identify how platform design impacts the quality of Web-based health advices and equal access to health information on the internet. Methods A total of 900 Q&As were collected from 9 Q&A platforms with different design features. Data on the design features for each platform were generated. Paid physicians evaluated the data to quantify the quality of health advices. Guided by the literature, the design features that affected information quality were identified and recorded for each Q&A platform. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and unbiased regression tree methods were used for the analysis. Results Q&A platform design and health advice quality were related. Expertise of information providers (beta=.48; P=.001), financial incentive (beta=.4; P=.001), external reputation (beta=.28; P=.002), and question quality (beta=.12; P=.001) best predicted health advice quality. Virtual incentive, Web 2.0 mechanisms, and reputation systems were not associated with health advice quality. Conclusions Access to high-quality health advices on the internet is unequal and skewed toward high-income and high-literacy groups. However, there are possibilities to generate high-quality health advices for free.

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Evaluation of the Liver Disease Information in Baidu Encyclopedia and Wikipedia: Longitudinal Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.17680 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fei Sun ◽

Fuchun Yang ◽

Shusen Zheng

Keyword(s):

Liver Disease ◽

Health Information ◽

Liver Diseases ◽

The Internet ◽

Disease Information ◽

Classification Of Diseases ◽

International Statistical Classification ◽

Research Findings

BACKGROUND The internet has changed the way of people acquiring health information. Previous studies have shown that Wikipedia is a reasonably reliable medical resource, and it has been ranked higher than other general websites in various search engines. Baidu Encyclopedia is one of the most popular encyclopedia websites in China. However, no studies have shown the quality of the content provided in the Baidu Encyclopedia. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the quality of liver disease information provided by Wikipedia (in English) and Baidu Encyclopedia (in Chinese) and to perform a comparison of the quality and timeliness of the articles published in these two encyclopedias. Moreover, a 3-year follow-up study was conducted to compare if the information in both these websites was updated regularly over this period. METHODS We searched for information on liver diseases by using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision Version 2016 codes on Wikipedia (in English) and Baidu Encyclopedia (in Chinese). The quality of the articles was assessed using the DISCERN instrument, which consists of 3 sections. We recorded the latest editing date of the webpages and calculated the date interval to evaluate the update timeliness of these websites. RESULTS We found 22 entries on liver diseases in Baidu Encyclopedia and 15 articles in Wikipedia between September 15, 2016, and September 30, 2016, and we found 25 entries in Baidu Encyclopedia and 16 articles in Wikipedia between September 15, 2019, and September 30, 2019. In section 1 of the DISCERN instrument, the mean (SE) scores of Baidu Encyclopedia entries were significantly lower than those of Wikipedia articles. In section 2 and section 3 of the DISCERN instrument, the DISCERN scores of Baidu Encyclopedia entries were lower than those of Wikipedia articles, but the differences were not statistically significant. The total DISCERN scores of Baidu Encyclopedia entries were significantly lower than those of Wikipedia articles. The update interval of the entries in Baidu Encyclopedia was found to be significantly longer than that of the articles in Wikipedia. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that the quality of articles and the reliability of the research content on liver diseases in Wikipedia are better than those of the entries in Baidu Encyclopedia. However, the quality of the treatment choices provided in both Wikipedia and Baidu Encyclopedia is not satisfactory. Wikipedia is updated more frequently than Baidu Encyclopedia, thereby ensuring that the information presented has the most recent research findings. The findings of our study suggest that in order to find accurate health information, it is important to seek the help of medical professionals instead of looking for a prescription amid the confusing information provided on the internet.

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