Närhi Ulla, Pohjanoksa-Mäntylä Marika, Karjalainen Anna, Saari Johanna K, Wahlroos Hannes, Airaksinen Marja S, Bell Simon J
European Commission, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, Unit F/2, Avenue l'Auderghem 45, Brussels, Belgium.
Pharm World Sci. 2008 Dec;30(6):898-906. doi: 10.1007/s11096-008-9249-9. Epub 2008 Sep 13.
The use of the Internet as a source of medicines information is increasing. However, the quality of online information is highly variable. Equipping Internet users to distinguish good quality information is the aim of a new five-item quality assessment tool (DARTS) that was developed by the Working Group on Information to Patients under the Pharmaceutical Forum established by the European Commission. The objective of this study was to investigate how people with depression assess the quality of online medicines information and to study their opinions about the DARTS tool in assisting in this process.
Focus group discussions with Internet users were conducted in metropolitan Helsinki, Finland.
Six focus group discussions (67-109 min duration) were conducted with people with depression (n = 29). The DARTS tool was used as a stimulus after open discussion in relation to the evaluation of the quality of Internet-based medicines information. The focus groups were digitally audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were thematically content analysed by two researchers.
Focus group participants were generally critical of the information they retrieved. However, few participants systematically applied quality assessment criteria when retrieving online information. No participants had knowledge or experience of any quality assessment tools. The DARTS tool was perceived as being concise and easy to use and understand. Many participants indicated it would allay some of their concerns related to information quality and act as a reminder. While several participants felt the tool should not be any more extensive, some of them believed it should include a more in-depth explanation to accompany each of the quality criteria.
The DARTS tool may act as a prompt for people with depression to assess the quality of online information they obtain. The five DARTS criteria may form the basis of a systematic approach to quality assessment and the tool may also act as a reminder of quality issues in general. Further studies are needed to assess the actual value of the DARTS tool as well as its value in relation to other quality assessment instruments.
将互联网用作药品信息来源的情况日益增多。然而，在线信息的质量参差不齐。欧盟委员会设立的药品论坛下属患者信息工作组开发了一种新的五项质量评估工具（DARTS），其目的是让互联网用户有能力辨别高质量信息。本研究的目的是调查抑郁症患者如何评估在线药品信息的质量，并了解他们对DARTS工具在这一过程中的辅助作用的看法。
在芬兰首都赫尔辛基与互联网用户进行了焦点小组讨论。
对29名抑郁症患者进行了6次焦点小组讨论（时长67 - 109分钟）。在就基于互联网的药品信息质量评估进行公开讨论后，使用DARTS工具作为刺激物。焦点小组讨论进行了数字录音并逐字转录。两名研究人员对转录本进行了主题内容分析。
焦点小组参与者总体上对他们检索到的信息持批评态度。然而，很少有参与者在检索在线信息时系统地应用质量评估标准。没有参与者了解或使用过任何质量评估工具。DARTS工具被认为简洁易用且易于理解。许多参与者表示它会减轻他们对信息质量的一些担忧，并起到提醒作用。虽然一些参与者认为该工具不应再更繁杂，但其中一些人认为它应该对每个质量标准都有更深入的解释。
DARTS工具可能促使抑郁症患者评估他们获取的在线信息的质量。DARTS的五项标准可能构成质量评估系统方法的基础，该工具也可能总体上起到质量问题提醒的作用。需要进一步研究来评估DARTS工具的实际价值及其与其他质量评估工具相比的价值。
