scholarly journals Quality of top webpages providing abortion pill information for Google searches in the USA: An evidence-based webpage quality assessment

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0240664
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Pleasants ◽  
Sylvia Guendelman ◽  
Karen Weidert ◽  
Ndola Prata
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Pregnancy Termination ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Google Search

Background In the United States, the internet is widely used to seek health information. Despite an estimated 18 million Google searches on abortion per year and the demonstrated importance of the abortion pill as an option for pregnancy termination, the top webpage search results for abortion pill searches, as well as the content and quality of those webpages, are not well understood. Methods We used Google’s Custom Search Application Programming Interface (API) to identify the top 10 webpages presented for “abortion pill” searches on August 06, 2018. We developed a comprehensive, evidence-based Family Planning Webpage Quality Assessment Tool (FPWQAT), which was used to assess webpage quality for the five top webpages presenting text-based educational content. Results Of the top webpages for “abortion pill” searches, a plannedparenthood.com page was the top result and scored highest on our assessment (81%), providing high-quality and useable information. The other four webpages, a Wikipedia.com page and three anti-abortion information webpages, scored much lower on our assessment (14%-43%). These four webpages had lower quality of information in less useable formats. The anti-abortion pages also presented a variety of disinformation about the abortion pill. Conclusions Both the lack of accurate clinical content on the majority of top webpages and the concerning disinformation they contained raise concerns about the quality of online abortion pill information, while underlining challenges posed by Google search results to informed choice for consumers. Healthcare providers and consumers must be informed of online abortion pill content that is not based in current clinical evidence, while advocates and policymakers should push for online information that is credible and useable. These changes are imperative given the importance of sound abortion pill information for reproductive decision-making at a time when in-person abortion services are further challenged in the US.

scholarly journals Online Information About Periviable Birth: Quality Assessment (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriane F Haragan ◽  
Carly A Zuwiala ◽  
Katherine P Himes
Keyword(s):  
Medical Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Comfort Care ◽  
Treatment Choices ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Google Search

BACKGROUND Over 20,000 parents in the United States face the challenge of participating in decisions about whether to use life support for their infants born on the cusp of viability every year. Clinicians must help families grasp complex medical information about their baby’s immediate prognosis as well as the risk for significant long-term morbidity. Patients faced with this decision want supplemental information and frequently seek medical information on the Internet. Empirical evidence about the quality of websites is lacking. OBJECTIVE We sought to evaluate the quality of online information available about periviable birth and treatment options for infants born at the cusp of viability. METHODS We read a counseling script to 20 pregnant participants that included information typically provided by perinatal and neonatal providers when periviable birth is imminent. The women were then asked to list terms they would use to search the Internet if they wanted additional information. Using these search terms, two reviewers evaluated the content of websites obtained via a Google search. We used two metrics to assess the quality of websites. The first was the DISCERN instrument, a validated questionnaire designed to assess the quality of patient-targeted health information for treatment choices. The second metric was the Essential Content Tool (ECT), a tool designed to address key components of counseling around periviable birth as outlined by professional organizations. DISCERN scores were classified as low quality if scores were 2, fair quality if scores were 3, and high quality if scores were 4 or higher. Scores of 6 or higher on the ECT were considered high quality. Interreviewer agreement was assessed by calculated kappa statistic. RESULTS A total of 97 websites were reviewed. Over half (57/97, 59%) were for-profit sites, news stories, or personal blogs; 28% (27/97) were government or medical sites; and 13% (13/97) were nonprofit or advocacy sites. The majority of sites scored poorly in DISCERN questions designed to assess the reliability of information presented as well as data regarding treatment choices. Only 7% (7/97) of the websites were high quality as defined by the DISCERN tool. The majority of sites did not address the essential content defined by the ECT. Importantly, only 18% of websites (17/97) indicated that there are often a number of reasonable approaches to newborn care when faced with periviable birth. Agreement was strong, with kappa ranging from .72 to .91. CONCLUSIONS Most information about periviable birth found on the Internet using common search strategies is of low quality. News stories highlighting positive outcomes are disproportionately represented. Few websites discuss comfort care or how treatment decisions impact quality of life.

scholarly journals Translation Quality Assessment in Health Research: A Functionalist Alternative to Back-Translation

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Colina ◽  
Nicole Marrone ◽  
Maia Ingram ◽  
Daisey Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Translation Quality ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Back Translation

As international research studies become more commonplace, the importance of developing multilingual research instruments continues to increase and with it that of translated materials. It is therefore not unexpected that assessing the quality of translated materials (e.g., research instruments, questionnaires, etc.) has become essential to cross-cultural research, given that the reliability and validity of the research findings crucially depend on the translated instruments. In some fields (e.g., public health and medicine), the quality of translated instruments can also impact the effectiveness and success of interventions and public campaigns. Back-translation (BT) is a commonly used quality assessment tool in cross-cultural research. This quality assurance technique consists of (a) translation (target text [TT1]) of the source text (ST), (b) translation (TT2) of TT1 back into the source language, and (c) comparison of TT2 with ST to make sure there are no discrepancies. The accuracy of the BT with respect to the source is supposed to reflect equivalence/accuracy of the TT. This article shows how the use of BT as a translation quality assessment method can have a detrimental effect on a research study and proposes alternatives to BT. One alternative is illustrated on the basis of the translation and quality assessment methods used in a research study on hearing loss carried out in a border community in the southwest of the United States.

scholarly journals Googling Musculoskeletal-Related Pain and Ranking of Medical Associations’ Patient Information Pages: Google Ads Keyword Planner Analysis

10.2196/18684 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. e18684
Author(s):  
Yoichiro Yamaguchi ◽  
Deokcheol Lee ◽  
Takuya Nagai ◽  
Taro Funamoto ◽  
Takuya Tajima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Medical Associations ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Google Search ◽  
Information Providers

Background Most people currently use the internet to obtain information about many subjects, including health information. Thus, medical associations need to provide accurate medical information websites. Although medical associations have their own patient education pages, it is not clear if these websites actually show up in search results. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate how well medical associations function as online information providers by searching for information about musculoskeletal-related pain online and determining the ranking of the websites of medical associations. Methods We conducted a Google search for frequently searched keywords. Keywords were extracted using Google Ads Keyword Planner associated with “pain” relevant to the musculoskeletal system from June 2016 to December 2019. The top 20 search queries were extracted and searched using the Google search engine in Japan and the United States. Results The number of suggested queries for “pain” provided by Google Ads Keyword Planner was 930 in the United States and 2400 in Japan. Among the top 20 musculoskeletal-related pain queries chosen, the probability that the medical associations’ websites would appear in the top 10 results was 30% in the United States and 45% in Japan. In five queries each, the associations’ websites did not appear among the top 100 results. No significant difference was found in the rank of the associations’ website search results (P=.28). Conclusions To provide accurate medical information to patients, it is essential to undertake effective measures for search engine optimization. For orthopedic associations, it is necessary that their websites should appear among the top search results.

scholarly journals Googling Musculoskeletal-Related Pain and Ranking of Medical Associations’ Patient Information Pages: Google Ads Keyword Planner Analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoichiro Yamaguchi ◽  
Deokcheol Lee ◽  
Takuya Nagai ◽  
Taro Funamoto ◽  
Takuya Tajima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Medical Associations ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Google Search ◽  
Information Providers

BACKGROUND Most people currently use the internet to obtain information about many subjects, including health information. Thus, medical associations need to provide accurate medical information websites. Although medical associations have their own patient education pages, it is not clear if these websites actually show up in search results. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate how well medical associations function as online information providers by searching for information about musculoskeletal-related pain online and determining the ranking of the websites of medical associations. METHODS We conducted a Google search for frequently searched keywords. Keywords were extracted using Google Ads Keyword Planner associated with “pain” relevant to the musculoskeletal system from June 2016 to December 2019. The top 20 search queries were extracted and searched using the Google search engine in Japan and the United States. RESULTS The number of suggested queries for “pain” provided by Google Ads Keyword Planner was 930 in the United States and 2400 in Japan. Among the top 20 musculoskeletal-related pain queries chosen, the probability that the medical associations’ websites would appear in the top 10 results was 30% in the United States and 45% in Japan. In five queries each, the associations’ websites did not appear among the top 100 results. No significant difference was found in the rank of the associations’ website search results (<i>P</i>=.28). CONCLUSIONS To provide accurate medical information to patients, it is essential to undertake effective measures for search engine optimization. For orthopedic associations, it is necessary that their websites should appear among the top search results.

Readability of Online Patient Information Relating to Cleft Palate Surgery

2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110131
Author(s):  
Christopher V. Lavin ◽  
Evan J. Fahy ◽  
Darren B. Abbas ◽  
Michelle Griffin ◽  
Nestor M. Diaz Deleon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cleft Palate ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Health Care Education ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Cleft Palate Repair ◽  
Grade Reading Level ◽  
Google Search

Objective: It is important for health care education materials to be easily understood by caretakers of children requiring craniofacial surgery. This study aimed to analyze the readability of Google search results as they pertain to “Cleft Palate Surgery” and “Palatoplasty.” Additionally, the study included a search from several locations globally to identify possible geographic differences. Design: Google searches of the terms “Cleft Palate Surgery” and “Palatoplasty” were performed. Additionally, searches of only “Cleft Palate Surgery” were run from several internet protocol addresses globally. Main Outcome Measures: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Readability Ease, Gunning Fog Index, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) index, and Coleman-Liau Index. Results: Search results for “Cleft Palate Surgery” were easier to read and comprehend compared to search results for “Palatoplasty.” Mean Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scores were 7.0 and 10.11, respectively ( P = .0018). Mean Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease scores were 61.29 and 40.71, respectively ( P = .0003). Mean Gunning Fog Index scores were 8.370 and 10.34, respectively ( P = .0458). Mean SMOG Index scores were 6.84 and 8.47, respectively ( P = .0260). Mean Coleman-Liau Index scores were 12.95 and 15.33, respectively ( P = .0281). No significant differences were found in any of the readability measures based on global location. Conclusions: Although some improvement can be made, craniofacial surgeons can be confident in the online information pertaining to cleft palate repair, regardless of where the search is performed from. The average readability of the top search results for “Cleft Palate Surgery” is around the seventh-grade reading level (US educational system) and compares favorably to other health care readability analyses.

scholarly journals Comprehensively addressing postpartum maternal health: a content and image review of commercially available mobile health apps

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tucker ◽  
Alan Cuevas Villagomez ◽  
Tamar Krishnamurti
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Google Play

Abstract Background The United States is currently facing a maternal morbidity and mortality crisis, with the highest rates of any resource-rich nation. In efforts to address this, new guidelines for postpartum care suggest that mobile health (mHealth) apps can help provide complementary clinical support for new mothers during the postpartum period. However, to date no study has evaluated the quality of existing mHealth tools targeted to this time period in terms of sufficiency of maternal health information, inclusivity of people of color, and app usability. Methods Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards were used to review the peripartum apps from the Apple and Google Play stores in either the Health/Fitness, Medical, or Education categories. Apps were evaluated for extent and quality of maternal health information and inclusivity of people of color using an a priori coding scheme. App usability was evaluated using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) score. Results Of the 301 apps from the Apple and Google Play stores, 25 met criteria for final evaluation. Of the 30 maternal health topics coded for, the median number addressed by apps was 19.5 (65%). Peripartum behaviors were more frequently addressed than peripartum outpatient care topics and peripartum acute health risks. The coverage of maternal health information and inclusivity of people of color in app imagery both correlated positively with the MARS usability score of the app. Only 8 apps (32%) portrayed greater than 24% images of people of color- the percent of non-white Americans according to 2019 census estimates. There was no correlation between MARS usability score and number of app users, as estimated by number of ratings for the app available on the app store. In addition, apps with evidence-based maternal health information had greater MARS engagement, information, and aesthetics scores. However, presence of evidence-based information did not correlate with greater numbers of app users. Conclusions Current commercially available peripartum apps range widely in quality. Overall current app offerings generally do not provide adequate maternal health information and are not optimally accessible to the target users in terms of inclusivity of women of color or app usability. Apps delivering evidence-based information and more usable design are more likely to meet these standards but are not more likely to be downloaded by users.

scholarly journals Quality assessment of nutrition coverage in the media: a 6-week survey of five popular UK newspapers

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. e014633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice R Kininmonth ◽  
Nafeesa Jamil ◽  
Nasser Almatrouk ◽  
Charlotte E L Evans
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcome ◽  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Quality Score ◽  
Food Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Day Of The Week ◽  
Article Quality

ObjectivesTo investigate the quality of nutrition articles in popular national daily newspapers in the UK and to identify important predictors of article quality.SettingNewspapers are a primary source of nutrition information for the public.DesignNewspaper articles were collected on 6 days of the week (excluding Sunday) for 6 weeks in summer 2014. Predictors included food type and health outcome, size of article, whether the journalist was named and day of the week.Outcome measuresA validated quality assessment tool was used to assess each article, with a minimum possible score of −12 and a maximum score of 17. Newspapers were checked in duplicate for relevant articles. The association of each predictor on article quality score was analysed adjusting for remaining predictors. A logistic regression model was implemented with quality score as the binary outcome, categorised as poor (score less than zero) or satisfactory (score of zero or more).ResultsOver 6 weeks, 141 nutrition articles were included across the five newspapers. The median quality score was 2 (IQR −2–6), and 44 (31%) articles were poor quality. There was no substantial variation in quality of reporting between newspapers once other factors such as anonymous publishing, health outcome, aspect of diet covered and day of the week were taken into account. Particularly low-quality scores were obtained for anonymously published articles with no named journalist, articles that focused on obesity and articles that reported on high fat and processed foods.ConclusionsThe general public are regularly exposed to poor quality information in newspapers about what to eat to promote health, particularly articles reporting on obesity. Journalists, researchers, university press officers and scientific journals need to work together more closely to ensure clear, consistent nutrition messages are communicated to the public in an engaging way.

scholarly journals Wikipedia: A Medical Student Educational Project to Edit Wikipedia in Preparation for Practicing Evidence-Based Pain Medicine

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238212052095969
Author(s):  
Diana Kantarovich ◽  
Hanna B Vollbrecht ◽  
Sebastian A Cruz ◽  
Hector Castillo ◽  
Cody S Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Evidence Based Medicine ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Pain Medicine ◽  
Based Medicine

Objective: Wikipedia is commonly used to acquire information about various medical conditions such as chronic pain. Ideally, better online pain management content could reduce the burden of opioid use disorders. Our goal was to improve the quality of the content available on Wikipedia to make it more accurate and applicable to medical students and the general public while training medical students to practice evidence-based medicine and critically assess their sources of information. Methods: An elective class in Neuroscience, Pain, and Opioids composed of 10 medical students met biweekly to discuss landmark and practice-changing research articles in the fields of acute pain, chronic pain, and opioid management. The professor chose Wikipedia articles relevant to this course. Three independent viewers analyzed the quality of citations, anecdotal medical content, and content value for both patients and medical professionals. As part of their coursework, students then edited the Wikipedia articles. Results: Although some of the Wikipedia pain topic content (6.7% ± 2.0) was anecdotal, financially biased, or inconsistent with Western Medical Practice content, overall articles included primarily high-quality citations (85.6% ± 3.1). On a 0-5 Likert scale, students felt content would be moderately helpful for both medical students/professionals (3.4 ± 0.2) and laypersons (3.5 ± 0.2). Editing and adding citations was feasible, but novel material was often reverted. Conclusion: A significant amount of pain medicine content was relevant and amenable to student editing. Therefore, future use of this tactic could provide a unique opportunity to integrate evidence-based medicine into the medical curriculum and have a direct impact on the widely available medical information. Future refinement in the editorial process may also further improve online information.

DOZ047.115: Quality and readability of esophageal atresia information on the Internet

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B R O’Connor ◽  
E Doherty ◽  
F Friedmacher ◽  
L Vernon ◽  
T S Paran
Keyword(s):  
Esophageal Atresia ◽  
Oesophageal Atresia ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Flesch Reading Ease ◽  
Ease Score ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Google Search

Abstract Introduction Increasingly in pediatric surgical practice, patients, their parents, and surgeons alike use the Internet as an easily and quickly accessible source of information about conditions and their treatment. The quality and reliability of this information may often be unregulated. We aim to objectively assess the online information available relating to esophageal atresia and its management. Methods We performed searches for ‘oesophageal atresia’ and ‘esophageal atresia’ using the Google, Yahoo, and Bing engines to encompass both European and American spellings. We assessed the first 20 results of each search and excluded duplicates or unrelated pages. The DISCERN score and the Health on the Net Foundation Code (HONcode) toolbar were utilized to assess the quality of information on each website. We evaluated readability with the Flesch reading ease (FRE) and the Flesch–Kincaid grade (FKG). Results Of the original 120 hits, 61 were excluded (51 duplicates, 10 unrelated). Out of 59 individual sites reviewed, only 13 sites were HONcode approved. The mean overall DISCERN score was 52.55 (range: 22–78). The mean DISCERN score for the search term ‘oesphageal atresia’ was 57 (range: 22–78) in comparison to 59.03 for ‘esophageal atresia’ (range: 27–78). Google search had the lowest overall mean DISCERN score at 54.83 (range: 35–78), followed by Yahoo at 58.03 (range: 22–78), and Bing with the highest overall mean score of 61.2 (range: 27–78). The majority of websites were graded excellent (≥63) or good (51–62), 43% and 27%, respectively; 20% were scored as fair (39–50), with 10% being either poor (27–38) or very poor (≤26). In terms of readability, the overall Flesch Reading Ease score was 33.02, and the overall Flesch–Kincaid grade level was 10.3. Conclusions The quality of freely available online information relating to esophageal atresia is generally good but may not be accessible to everyone due to being relatively difficult to read. We should direct parents towards comprehensive, high-quality, and easily readable information sources should they wish to supplement their knowledge about esophageal atresia and its management.

scholarly journals P126 An analysis of the quality and readability of online information for osteoarthritis

Rheumatology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kieran Murray ◽  
Timothy Murray ◽  
Candice Low ◽  
Anna O'Rourke ◽  
Douglas J Veale
Keyword(s):  
Grade Level ◽  
English Language ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Scoring Systems ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Flesch Reading Ease ◽  
12Th Grade ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Ease Score

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of disability in people over 65 years old. The readability of of online osteoarthritis information has never been assessed. A 2003 study found the quality of online osteoarthritis information to be poor. This study reviews the quality of online information regarding osteoarthritis in 2018 using three validated scoring systems. Readability is reviewed for the first time, again using three validated tools. Methods The term osteoarthritis was searched across the three most popular English language search engines. The first 25 pages from each search engine were analysed. Duplicate pages, websites featuring paid advertisements, inaccessible pages (behind a pay wall, not available for geographical reasons) and non-text pages were excluded. Readability was measured using Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Gunning-Fog Index (GFI). Website quality was scored using the the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria and DISCERN criteria. Presence or absence of HONcode certification, age of content, content producer and author characteristics were noted. Results 37 unique websites were suitable for analysis. Readability varied by assessment tool from 8th to 12th grade level. This compares with the recommended 7- 8th grade level. One (2.7%) website met all four JAMA Criteria. Mean DISCERN quality of information for OA websites was “fair”, comparing favourably with the “poor” grading of a 2003 study. HONCode endorsed websites (43.2%) were of a statistically significantly higher quality. Conclusion Quality of online health information for OA is “fair”. 2.7% of websites met JAMA benchmark criteria for quality. Readability was equal to or more difficult than recommendations. HONcode certification was indicative of higher quality, but not readability. Disclosures K. Murray None. T. Murray None. C. Low None. A. O'Rourke None. D.J. Veale None.

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