Quality of Information Addressing Prostate Specific Antigen Screening on NCI Cancer Center and Public Health Organization Websites

Abstract

To survey accessibility and quality of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening information from National Cancer Institute (NCI) cancer center and public health organization websites. We surveyed the December 1, 2016 version of all 63 NCI-designated cancer center public websites and 5 major online clearinghouses from allied public/private organizations (Cancer.gov, Cancer.org, PCF.org, USPSTF.org, and CDC.gov). Websites were analyzed according to a 50-item list of validated healthcare information quality measures. Websites were graded by two blinded reviewers. Inter-rater agreement was confirmed by Cohen’s kappa coefficient. Ninety percent of websites addressed PSA screening. Cancer center sites covered 45% of topics surveyed, while organization websites addressed 70%. All organizational webpages addressed the possibility of false positive screening results; 41% of cancer center webpages did not. Forty percent of cancer center webpages also did not discuss next steps if a PSA test was positive. Only 6% of cancer center webpages were rated by our reviewers as “superior” (e.g. addressing > 75% of the surveyed topics), versus 20% of organizational webpages. Inter-rater agreement between our reviewers was high (kappa coefficient = 0.602). NCI-designated cancer center websites publish lower quality public information about PSA screening than sites run by major allied organizations. Nonetheless, information and communication deficiencies were observed across all surveyed sites. In an age of increasing patient consumerism, prospective prostate cancer patients would benefit from improved online PSA screening information from provider and advocacy organizations. Validated cancer patient web educational standards remain an important, understudied priority.