Abstract
<h3>Objective:</h3> To evaluate website content designed to provide epilepsy surgery information to patients. <h3>Background:</h3> Surgery is an important treatment for patients with medically refractory epilepsy. An increasing number of patients are turning to the Internet to obtain health information, but a previous study in the United Kingdom demonstrated poor readability and gaps in content from epilepsy surgery online resources. In this study, we used a US-based search strategy to analyze website content to determine the frequency of inclusion for key concepts relevant to the understanding of epilepsy surgery evaluation, risks, complications and options. <h3>Design/Methods:</h3> Private browser Google search was used to find the top 100 search results for the terms “<i>epilepsy+surgery</i>”. Scientific papers, insurance pages, pay-wall limited and non-text content were excluded. Text content was analyzed for inclusion of important concepts (pre-surgical evaluation, complications, risks of continuing to live with seizures, types of surgery, complimentary diagrams/audiovisual material). Comparison of content inclusion was performed as a function of organization types (level 4 epilepsy centers, community health websites) and location (US-based or non-US-based) using the chi-square test. <h3>Results:</h3> Preliminary analysis of 100 Google search results yields 76 websites and 24 exclusions. The inclusion rate of surgical complication content is positively correlated with non-level 4 epilepsy centers (76.9% vs 23.8%, p<0.001), community health websites (100% vs 25.0%, p<0.001), and non-US-based organizations (100% vs 29.2%, p=0.02). Higher rates of content addressing responsive neurostimulation surgery are correlated with level 4 epilepsy center designation (58.7% vs 38.5%, p=0.04). <h3>Conclusions:</h3> The majority of online health content is relatively incomplete with regards to multiple key concepts important for understanding a person’s surgical candidacy and the process of epilepsy surgery. Our findings suggest academic organizations, including level 4 epilepsy centers, need to broaden online health education resources for epilepsy surgery. More comprehensive publicly accessible information may lead to better shared decision-making. <b>Disclosure:</b> Ms. Ho has nothing to disclose. Mr. Seneviratne has nothing to disclose. Dr. Correa has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Consultant for Independent Medical Consultants. Dr. Correa has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Consultant for Atheneum Partners. Dr. Correa has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Correa has stock in Aidin Inc. Dr. Correa has received research support from Genentech. Dr. Correa has received research support from Psi Upsilon Foundation Inc.
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