Pediatric Cancer Information on the Internet: A Comparative Study of the Websites Quality in English and Spanish Languages

Abstract

The quality of the health information presented on the Internet is a public health problem, anyone can spread information even if it is false. One factor that influences the quality is the language in which it is presented. It is known that 85% of cancer patients search about their disease, and it influences the decisions they would take concerning their treatment. Spanish speakers are the second largest population after Mandarin Chinese, but the main scientific and medical information is published in English. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of pediatric cancer information on the Internet provided in English and Spanish languages. A Google chrome search was performed in both languages using the words “children cancer.” Three different validated tools to assess the quality of the information were used (JAMA benchmarks, DISCERN and HONcode). For all the tools used, the information in English was of better quality than Spanish information. We found a significant difference between the DISCERN and JAMA benchmark. Only 26.74% of the English and 3.57% of the Spanish websites fit all the DISCERN criteria and 25 % of the English and 13.39% of the Spanish websites fit the 4 JAMA criteria. The HONcode was no different between both languages. The health institutions should verify the health information presented on the Internet and issue recommendations which are the best sites to use.