Search Engine Ranking, Quality, and Content of Web Pages That Are Critical Versus Noncritical of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine

Abstract

PurposeOnline information can influence attitudes toward vaccination. The aim of the present study was to provide a systematic evaluation of the search engine ranking, quality, and content of Web pages that are critical versus noncritical of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. MethodsWe identified HPV vaccine–related Web pages with the Google search engine by entering 20 terms. We then assessed each Web page for critical versus noncritical bias and for the following quality indicators: authorship disclosure, source disclosure, attribution of at least one reference, currency, exclusion of testimonial accounts, and readability level less than ninth grade. We also determined Web page comprehensiveness in terms of mention of 14 HPV vaccine–relevant topics. ResultsTwenty searches yielded 116 unique Web pages. HPV vaccine–critical Web pages comprised roughly a third of the top, top 5– and top 10–ranking Web pages. The prevalence of HPV vaccine–critical Web pages was higher for queries that included term modifiers in addition to root terms. Compared with noncritical Web pages, Web pages critical of HPV vaccine overall had a lower quality score than those with a noncritical bias (p < .01) and covered fewer important HPV-related topics (p < .001). Critical Web pages required viewers to have higher reading skills, were less likely to include an author byline, and were more likely to include testimonial accounts. They also were more likely to raise unsubstantiated concerns about vaccination. ConclusionsWeb pages critical of HPV vaccine may be frequently returned and highly ranked by search engine queries despite being of lower quality and less comprehensive than noncritical Web pages.