scholarly journals Evaluation of Quality and Readability of Online Health Information on High Blood Pressure Using DISCERN and Flesch-Kincaid Tools

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3214
Author(s):  
Muhammad Tahir ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Fazal Muhammad ◽  
Shams ur Rehman ◽  
Imran Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Health Information ◽  
High Blood Pressure ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Pertinent Data

High Blood Pressure (BP) is a vital factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases worldwide. For more than a decade now, patients search for quality and easy-to-read Online Health Information (OHI) for symptoms, preventions, therapy and other medical conditions. In this paper, we evaluate the quality and readability of OHI about high BP. In order that the first 20 clicks of three top-rated search engines have been used to collect the pertinent data. Using the exclusion criteria, 25 unique websites are selected for evaluation. The quality of all included links is evaluated through DISCERN checklist, a questionnaire for assessing the quality of written information for a health problem. To enhance the reliability of evaluation, all links are separately assessed by two different groups—a group of Health Professional (HPs) and a group of Lay Subjects (LS). A readability test is performed using Flesch-Kincaid tool. Fleiss’ kappa has been calculated before considering average value of each group. After evaluation, the average DISCERN value of HPs is 49.43 ± 14.0 (fair quality) while for LS, it is 48.7 ± 12.2; the mean Flesch-Reading Ease Score (FRES) is 58.5 ± 11.1, which is fairly difficult to read and the Average Grade Level (AGL) is 8.8 ± 1.9. None of the websites scored more than 73 (90%). In both groups, only 4 (16%) websites achieved DISCERN score over 80%. Mann-Whitney and Cronbach’s alpha have been computed to check the statistical significance of the difference between two groups and internal consistency of DISCERN checklist, respectively. Normality and homoscedasticity tests have been performed to check the distribution of scores of both evaluating groups. In both groups, information category websites achieved high DISCERN score but their readability level is worse. Highest scoring websites have clear aim, succinct source and high quality of information on treatment options. High BP is a pervasive disease, yet most of the websites did not produce precise or high-quality information on treatment options.

An impact of intima media thickness of carotids in cardio vascular profile

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-52
Author(s):  
Jeevitha M ◽  
Kalaichandar M ◽  
Kirubakaran K ◽  
Baskaran V ◽  
Kokila K ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
High Blood Pressure ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Intima Media Thickness ◽  
Cardio Vascular ◽  
Intima Medial Thickness ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Carotid Intima Medial Thickness ◽  
Oral Sodium ◽  
Worse Prognosis

Low blood pressure truly includes a worse prognosis than the excessive blood strain. This mechanism,bills for the "reverse causation "seen within the haemodialysis’ patients, the company of conventional risk elements, such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and obesity, appear to be a worst diagnosis.Exogenous erythropoietic products can growth blood strain and requirement of antihypertensive tablets.30 Chronic ECFV overload secondary to activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axisand disturbances inside the stability of vasoconstrictors and the vasodilators make a contribution to high blood pressure. Improvement in blood pressure can be introduced out with oral sodium restriction, diuretics, and fluid elimination with dialysis. Some patients will continue to be hypertensive notwithstanding of the careful attention to ECFV reputation. LVH is related with reduced endurance of sufferers on hemo/peritoneal dialysis .Lower five year survival charge in ESRD patients with LVH have a 30% than people missing LVH. This have a look at produces the mean carotid artery intima-medial thickness turned into higher in sufferers with superior CKD although it did now not attain statistical significance, probable due to smaller sample size.It was also observed that carotid intima medial thickness had no correlation with dyslipidemia. Even though the patients had maintained significantly normal cholesterol and high HDL levels, there was an increase in CIMT. Therefore, CKD patients, CIMT cannot be predicted based on the traditional atherosclerotic risk factors like serum cholesterol and HDL.

A new tool for assessing the quality of online health information on the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Dobbins ◽  
Susannah Watson ◽  
Kristin Read ◽  
Kelly Graham ◽  
Reza Yousefi Nooraie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Optimal Aging

scholarly journals Using the Google™ Search Engine for Health Information: Is There a Problem? Case Study: Supplements for Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah C Cai ◽  
Leanne E King ◽  
Johanna T Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Nutrition Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
Quality Rating

ABSTRACT We assessed the quality of online health and nutrition information using a Google™ search on “supplements for cancer”. Search results were scored using the Health Information Quality Index (HIQI), a quality-rating tool consisting of 12 objective criteria related to website domain, lack of commercial aspects, and authoritative nature of the health and nutrition information provided. Possible scores ranged from 0 (lowest) to 12 (“perfect” or highest quality). After eliminating irrelevant results, the remaining 160 search results had median and mean scores of 8. One-quarter of the results were of high quality (score of 10–12). There was no correlation between high-quality scores and early appearance in the sequence of search results, where results are presumably more visible. Also, 496 advertisements, over twice the number of search results, appeared. We conclude that the Google™ search engine may have shortcomings when used to obtain information on dietary supplements and cancer.

A Tool for Quantifying the Quality of Online Health Information on Student Health Center Websites (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anagha Kulkarni ◽  
Mike Wong ◽  
Tejasvi Belsare ◽  
Risha Shah ◽  
Diana Yu Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Health Center ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Student Health ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Student Health Center

BACKGROUND The Internet has become a major source of health information especially for adolescents and young adults. Unfortunately, inaccurate, incomplete or outdated health information is widespread online. Often adolescents and young adults turn to authoritative websites such as the student health center (SHC) website of the university they are attending to obtain reliable health information. Although most on-campus SHC clinics comply with the American College Health Association (ACHA) standards, their websites are not subject to any standards or code of conduct. In the absence of quality standards or guidelines, the monitoring and compliance processes do not exist for SHC websites either. As such, there is no oversight on the health information published on the SHC websites by any central governing body. OBJECTIVE Our objective is to enable researchers to monitor online information quality at scale. We have created a tool that can efficiently quantify the quality of information posted on SHC websites about a health topic. Specifically, this quantitative tool provides information on quality, such as reading ease, coverage of the topic, and the degree of fact-based objective information. METHODS Our cross-functional team has designed and developed an open-source software, QMOHI: Quantitative Measures of Online Health Information, using the Agile software development methodology. The QMOHI tool finds the SHC website and gathers information on the specific health topic of interest from a prespecified list of university websites. Based on the retrieved text, the tool computes eight different quality metrics. The QMOHI tool is a fully automated tool that is designed to be scalable, generalizable, and robust. RESULTS The first empirical evaluation shows that the QMOHI tool is highly scalable and substantially more efficient than the manual approach of assessing online information quality. The second experimental results demonstrate QMOHI’s ability to work effectively with starkly different health topics (COVID, Cancer, LARC, and Condom) and with narrowly focused topics (hormonal IUD and copper IUD); thereby establishing the generalizability and versatility of the tool. The results from the last experiment demonstrate that QMOHI is not vulnerable to typical structural changes that SHC websites may undergo (e.g. URL changes) over a long period of time. QMOHI is able to support longitudinal studies by being robust to such website changes. CONCLUSIONS QMOHI allows public health researchers and practitioners to conduct large-scale studies of SHC websites that were previously too time intensive. The capability to generalize broadly or focus narrowly allows for wide applications of QMOHI, equipping researchers to study both mainstream and underexplored health topics. QMOHI’s ability to robustly analyze SHC websites periodically facilitates longitudinal investigations and monitor SHC progress. QMOHI serves as a launching pad for our future work that aims to develop a broadly applicable public health tool for online health information studies with potential applications far beyond SHC websites.

scholarly journals Does the packaging of health information affect the assessment of its reliability? A randomized controlled trial protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Leela Raj ◽  
Denise Smith ◽  
James Heilman
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Plain Language ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
Written Information ◽  
Significant Difference

Background Wikipedia is frequently used as a source of health information. However, the quality of its content varies widely across articles. The DISCERN tool is a brief questionnaire developed in 1996 by the Division of Public Health and Primary Health Care of the Institute of Health Sciences of the University of Oxford. They claim it provides users with a valid and reliable way of assessing the quality of written information. However, the DISCERN instrument’s reliability in measuring the quality of online health information, particularly whether or not its scores are affected by reader biases about specific publication sources, has not yet been explored. Methods This study is a double-blind randomized assessment of a Wikipedia article versus a BMJ literature review using a modified version of the DISCERN tool. Participants will include physicians and medical residents from four university campuses in Ontario and British Columbia and will be randomized into one of four study arms. Inferential statistics tests (paired t-test, multi-level ordinal regression, and one-way ANOVA) will be conducted with the data collected from the study. Outcomes The primary outcome of this study will be to determine whether a statistically significant difference in DISCERN scores exists, which could suggest whether or not how health information is packaged influences how it is assessed for quality. Plain Language Summary The internet, and in particular Wikipedia, is an important way for professionals, students and the public to obtain health information. For this reason, the DISCERN tool was developed in 1996 to help users assess the quality of the health information they find. The ability of DISCERN to measure the quality of online health information has been supported with research, but the role of bias has not necessarily been accounted for. Does how the information is packaged influence how the information itself is evaluated? This study will compare the scores assigned to articles in their original format to the same articles in a modified format in order to determine whether the DISCERN tool is able to overcome bias. A significant difference in ratings between original and inverted articles will suggest that the DISCERN tool lacks the ability to overcome bias related to how health information is packaged.

The Effect of Dhamma Practice on Depression Outcomes in Hemodialysis Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-51
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Bodily Pain ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Hemodialysis Patients ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Dialysis Vintage ◽  
Severity Of Depression

Background: Depression impairs the quality of life (QOL), increases risk of hospitalization and death in hemodialysis patients. Antidepressant medications can lead to more severe side effects. Dhamma practice by Chanting and Anapanasati meditation may relieve depressive symptoms in hemodialysis patients. Objective: To evaluate the effect of Dhamma practice on depression outcome and QOL in hemodialysis patients. Materials and Methods: The authors conducted a quasi-experimental research, a time series design. Patients who were hemodialyzed three times a week at Bhumirajanagarindra Kidney Institute Hospital were enrolled. Participants were trained to practice the Chanting with Anapanasati meditation for 35 minutes every hemodialysis session for six months. Comparison of depression scores, severity of depression, QOL, vital signs, laboratory data, and biomarkers (F2-isoprostanes) was made between the beginning and the end of the study. Results: Forty patients were eligible for participation in the present study. The average age was 63.7±13.1 years. Median dialysis vintage was 29.5 months. After Dhamma practice for six months, diastolic blood pressure was decreased significantly (p=0.015). Median depression score decreased from 9.5 to 4 (p<0.001). The proportion of depressive patients were decreased from 17.5% to 2.5%. The severity of depression trended to decrease, but without statistical significance. F2-isoprostanes was decreased significantly (p<0.001). Both physical aspects (role physical, bodily pain, and physical component scale) and mental aspects (vitality, role emotional, mental health, and mental component scale) of QOL were significantly improved. Conclusion: Dhamma practice by Chanting and Anapanassati meditation significantly decreased blood pressure, and depression, and improved QOL both physically and mentally, in hemodialysis patients. Keywords: Depression, Quality of life, Hemodialysis, Meditation, Buddhist chanting, Dhamma.

Developing a Research Database of Primary Aldosteronism: Rationale and Baseline Characteristics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Wang ◽  
Yuanmei Li ◽  
Qianrui Li ◽  
Tingting Zhang ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Primary Aldosteronism ◽  
Prospective Cohort ◽  
Research Database ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Plasma Aldosterone Concentration ◽  
Confirmatory Testing ◽  
The Mean ◽  
High Level

Abstract BackgroundManagement of primary aldosteronism (PA) has become a research hotspot in the field of endocrinology. To obtain reliable research evidence, it is necessary to establish a high-quality PA research database. MethodsThe establishment of PA research database involved two steps. Firstly, patients with confirmation of PA diagnosis between 1 Jan 2009 to 31 Aug 2019 at West China Hospital were identified and data were extracted. Secondly, patients with confirmatory testing for PA will be enrolled into a prospective cohort. Data will be prospectively collected based on the case report forms since 1 Sep 2019. We evaluated the quality of research database through assessment of quality of key variables.ResultsTotally, 862 patients diagnosed as PA were identified, of which 507 patients who had positive confirmatory testing for PA were included into the retrospective database. Among 862 patients diagnosed as PA, the mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 156.1 mmHg, mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 97.2 mmHg. Among included patients, the mean serum potassium level was 2.85 mmol/L, and the mean plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) was 28.1 ng/dL. The characteristics patients with positive confirmatory testing for PA were similar. Validation of data extracting and linking showed the accuracy were 100%. Evaluation of missing data showed that the completeness of BMI (95.9%), SBP (99.4%) and DBP (99.4%) were high. ConclusionThrough integrating retrospective and prospective cohort of PA, a research database of PA with high quality and comprehensive data can be established. We anticipate that the research database will provide a high level of feasibility for management of PA in China.

Quality of Health Information on the Internet

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.

Qualitative evaluation of paediatric surgical otolaryngology content on YouTube

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Ward ◽  
R Bavier ◽  
C Warren ◽  
J Yan ◽  
B Paskhover
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Medical Decisions ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
The Mean

AbstractObjectiveThis study evaluated the quality of YouTube content focusing on common paediatric otolaryngology procedures, as this content can influence the opinions and medical decisions of patients.MethodsA total of 120 YouTube videos were compiled to review using the terms ‘adenoid removal’, ‘adenoidectomy’, ‘ear tubes’, ‘tympanostomy’, ‘tonsil removal’ and ‘tonsillectomy’. The Discern criteria was used to rate the quality of health information presented in each video.ResultsThe mean bias Discern score was 3.18 and the mean overall Discern score was 2.39. Videos including US board certified physicians were rated significantly higher (p < 0.001) than videos without (bias Discern score = 3.00 vs 2.38; overall Discern score = 3.79 vs 1.55). The videos had been viewed a total of 176 769 549 times.ConclusionUnbiased, high quality videos on YouTube are lacking. As patients may rely on this information when making medical decisions, it is important that practitioners continually evaluate and improve this video content. Otolaryngologists should be prepared to discuss YouTube content with patients.

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