Abstract
IntroductionAdenotonsillectomy is an invasive surgical procedure, which may encourage the search for information by the lay population through online search engines. The quality of this information, however, requires an evaluation due to the wide diversity of the available content. ObjectiveTo evaluate the quality, in terms of ethical principles, readability and comprehensiveness, of the most accessed websites concerning guidance to parents/guardians related to their children’s recommended adenotonsillectomy. MethodsThe websites mentioned on the first 10 pages obtained after the search using “removal”, “tonsils” and “adenoids” as keywords, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were selected. All were assessed using the Flesch Readability Index and Health on the Net Code tools, in addition to an evaluation of the content by two independent evaluators. The data were described, and the inter-rater agreement was calculated by the Kappa coefficient. Results34 websites were found, of the 100 assessed ones, which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria using the Google and Yahoo! Tools. Sixteen (47%) pages were considered reasonably difficult/difficult to read according to the Flesch Readability Index. Most of them met less than half of the analyzed ethical requirements according to the Health on the Net Code, and the overall comprehensiveness average was considered insufficient. ConclusionA deficit of overall quality (comprehensiveness, readability, and ethical principles) was demonstrated for the websites available to parents or guardians about the adenotonsillectomy procedure in children.
Highlights
Adenotonsillectomy is an invasive surgical procedure, which may encourage the search for information by the lay population through online search engines
It is observed that this search occurs mainly through the internet, through the search engines Google and Yahoo!, and that this information obtained through the Internet has frequently influenced the parents’ decisions about the procedure proposed for their children.[2]
The Brazilian population has easy access to the internet and its content but has difficulty interpreting texts. 50.99% of Brazilian students are below the basic reading proficiency level according to PISA ---- International Program of Student Assessment of 2015,13 justifying the evaluation of the content and readability of websites available to the lay population carried out the present study
Summary
Adenotonsillectomy is an invasive surgical procedure, which may encourage the search for information by the lay population through online search engines. Adenotonsillectomy is the surgical procedure carried out to remove the palatine and pharyngeal tonsils, being most frequently performed in the pediatric population It is indicated in cases of hypertrophy of these tonsils accompanied by obstruction and recurrent infections in the upper respiratory tract, and may be associated with other conditions, such as otitis media and obstructive sleep apnea.[1]. Because it is an invasive procedure which requires general anesthesia, some parents of children scheduled to undergo the surgery tend to feel insecure. Often these sites provide contradictory and outdated information, creating difficulty in making informed decisions regarding the care of their children.[3,4]
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