Abstract
Background To evaluate the quality of oral cancer information in Brazilian Portuguese on Google, YouTube, and Instagram. Material and Methods The first 100 links of each platform characterized the initial sample. The websites and Instagram were evaluated using the JAMA benchmarks, the Discern instrument, and the Flesch readability index (Flesch Reading Ease). The existence of Health on the Net (HON) code was also registered on websites. The usefulness of each video on YouTube was classified as not useful, slightly useful, moderately useful, or very useful. Results Thirty-four websites, 39 Instagram posts, and 57 videos were evaluated, of which 18 (33.3%) websites and 19 (48.7%) Instagram posts covered only 2 of the 4 JAMA benchmarks. For the Discern instrument, 20 (37%) and 18 (33.3%) websites exhibited low and moderate reliability, respectively, while 26 (66.7%) Instagram posts were of low confidence. The level of intelligibility of both websites and Instagram was difficult. Only three websites exhibited the HONcode. Forty-one (71.9%) videos on YouTube were moderately useful. Conclusions Information on oral cancer on the Internet in Brazilian Portuguese is of low quality. Thus, educational and governmental institutions have a responsibility to produce and indicate reliable sources of information for the population. Key words:Access to information, internet, oral cancer.
Highlights
It is estimated that 354,864 new cases of oral cancer occurred in 2018, with 177,384 deaths
The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of oral cancer information available in Brazilian Portuguese on the Internet and compare it with data from studies conducted in other countries
In Brazil, most cases of oral cancer are diagnosed at an advanced clinical stage, which results in poor prognosis and a high mortality rate [17]
Summary
It is estimated that 354,864 new cases of oral cancer occurred in 2018, with 177,384 deaths. Failures of early detection of the disease by professionals and the lack of information and awareness among patients represent some factors contributing to delays in the diagnosis of oral cancer [3,4]. There is a need to educate patients and health professionals, mainly dentists and physicians, about the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of the disease [5] In this context, the use of the Internet as a source of health information has grown over the years. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of oral cancer information available in Brazilian Portuguese on the Internet and compare it with data from studies conducted in other countries. To evaluate the quality of oral cancer information in Brazilian Portuguese on Google, YouTube, and Instagram. Educational and governmental institutions have a responsibility to produce and indicate reliable sources of information for the population
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