Health Information on the Internet: Accessibility, Quality, and Readability in English and Spanish
2001
ContextDespite the substantial amount of health-related information available
on the Internet, little is known about the accessibility, quality, and reading
grade level of that health information.ObjectiveTo evaluate health information on breast cancer, depression, obesity,
and childhood asthma available through English- and Spanish-language search
engines and Web sites.Design and SettingThree unique studies were performed from July 2000 through December
2000. Accessibility of 14 search engines was assessed using a structured search
experiment. Quality of 25 health Web sites and content provided by 1 search
engine was evaluated by 34 physicians using structured implicit review (interrater
reliability >0.90). The reading grade level of text selected for structured
implicit review was established using the Fry Readability Graph method.Main Outcome MeasuresFor the accessibility study, proportion of links leading to relevant
content; for quality, coverage and accuracy of key clinical elements; and
grade level reading formulas.ResultsLess than one quarter of the search engine's first pages of links led
to relevant content (20% of English and 12% of Spanish). On average, 45% of
the clinical elements on English- and 22% on Spanish-language Web sites were
more than minimally covered and completely accurate and 24% of the clinical
elements on English- and 53% on Spanish-language Web sites were not covered
at all. All English and 86% of Spanish Web sites required high school level
or greater reading ability.ConclusionAccessing health information using search engines and simple search
terms is not efficient. Coverage of key information on English- and Spanish-language
Web sites is poor and inconsistent, although the accuracy of the information
provided is generally good. High reading levels are required to comprehend
Web-based health information.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
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References
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Citations
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