Abstract
BackgroundCurrently, the Internet seems to be a helpful tool for obtaining information about everything that we think about, including diseases, their prevention and treatment approaches. However, doubts exist regarding the quality and readability of such information. This study sought to assess the quality and readability of web-based Arabic information on periodontal disease.MethodsIn this infodemiological study, the Google, Yahoo!, and Bing search engines were searched using specific Arabic terms on periodontal disease. The first 100 consecutive websites from each engine were obtained. The eligible websites were categorized as commercial, health/professional, journalism, and other. The following tools were applied to assess the quality of the information on the included websites: the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and the DISCERN tool. The readability was assessed using an online readability tool.ResultsOf the 300 websites, 89 were eligible for quality and readability analyses. Only two websites (2.3%) were HONcode certified. Based on the DISCERN tool, 43 (48.3%) websites had low scores. The mean score of the JAMA benchmarks was 1.6 ± 1.0, but only 3 (3.4%) websites achieved “yes” responses for all four JAMA criteria. Based on the DISCERN tool, health/professional websites revealed the highest quality of information compared to other website categories. Most of the health/professional websites revealed moderate-quality information, while 55% of the commercial websites, 66% of journalism websites, and 43% of other websites showed poor quality information. Regarding readability, most of the analyzed websites presented simple and readable written content.ConclusionsAside from readable content, Arabic health information on the analyzed websites on periodontal disease is below the required level of quality.
Highlights
The Internet seems to be a helpful tool for obtaining information about everything that we think about, including diseases, their prevention and treatment approaches
Of the 300 screened websites, 150 websites were excluded as duplicates, resulting in 150 websites analyzed for eligibility
Regarding Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, the overall mean score for all of the websites was of 1.6 ± 1.0 out of a maximum of 4
Summary
The Internet seems to be a helpful tool for obtaining information about everything that we think about, including diseases, their prevention and treatment approaches. This study sought to assess the quality and readability of web-based Ara‐ bic information on periodontal disease. Clinicians, including periodontists, have faced patients who have been misinformed due to browsing websites searching for health information without professional guidance [9, 10]. These health-related websites must be assessed for their quality and regularly supervised since they concern health care consumers and researchers and clinicians [11,12,13]. This study sought to assess the quality and readability of web-based Arabic health information regarding periodontal disease and its prevention and treatment
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