McPherson Amy C, Gofine Miriam L, Stinson Jennifer
a Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Dalla Lana School of Public Health , University of Toronto.
Health Commun. 2014;29(5):473-82. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2013.768325. Epub 2013 Oct 7.
The numbers of children and young people with chronic conditions are increasing. While their information needs may vary, providing health care information can have considerable benefits, including better emotional health, less distress during treatments, and greater satisfaction with medical care. The Internet is increasingly being used to communicate health-related information to children about a range of chronic conditions. However, the quality of such websites is underexplored. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the reliability and quality of online information for children about chronic conditions using a standardized evaluation tool, and to explore children's and young people's perceptions of quality and trustworthiness regarding online health information. The study consisted of two phases. In Phase 1, websites about common pediatric chronic conditions aimed at children and containing treatment or management options were identified and the quality assessment tool DISCERN was completed. Test-retest and interrater reliability were calculated. In Phase 2, two focus groups with laptop computers were conducted with children and young people with a chronic condition to explore their perceptions of trustworthiness of online health information. In Phase 1, 165 websites were identified and 100 met the criteria and were assessed. The mean DISCERN score of all sites was 48.16 out of 75 (SD = 7.97, range 28-71, min 15 to max 75). Quality scores varied widely across the sample. The internal consistency and interrater reliability scores were both lower than previously reported in studies using the DISCERN to assess information for adults. In Phase 2, two focus groups with a total of six participants aged 11-23 years revealed a relative lack of concern about the quality and trustworthiness of online health information. Older participants reported judging the source and authorship of websites, but other participants did not question the source of the information they found online. Although personal websites were perceived to be less reliable than those from well-known medical institutions, they were still valued by many of the participants. Overall, there were relatively few websites about pediatric chronic conditions aimed at children, with variable quality and reliability. However, DISCERN's use with pediatric websites across a broad spectrum of developmental stages is limited. Children and young people demonstrated a need for more guidance around assessing trustworthiness of online information. A more appropriate quality assessment tool is warranted, which could usefully be employed by health care professionals, children, and parents.
患有慢性病的儿童和青少年数量正在增加。虽然他们的信息需求可能各不相同，但提供医疗保健信息可能会带来诸多益处，包括更好的情绪健康、治疗期间更少的痛苦以及对医疗护理更高的满意度。互联网越来越多地被用于向儿童传播有关一系列慢性病的健康相关信息。然而，此类网站的质量尚未得到充分探索。因此，本研究的目的是使用标准化评估工具评估面向儿童的慢性病在线信息的可靠性和质量，并探讨儿童和青少年对在线健康信息的质量和可信度的看法。该研究包括两个阶段。在第一阶段，识别出针对儿童且包含治疗或管理选项的常见儿科慢性病相关网站，并完成质量评估工具DISCERN。计算了重测信度和评分者间信度。在第二阶段，对患有慢性病的儿童和青少年进行了两个使用笔记本电脑的焦点小组讨论，以探讨他们对在线健康信息可信度的看法。在第一阶段，识别出165个网站，其中100个符合标准并进行了评估。所有网站的DISCERN平均得分为75分中的48.16分（标准差 = 7.97，范围28 - 71，最低15分至最高75分）。样本中的质量得分差异很大。内部一致性和评分者间信度得分均低于先前使用DISCERN评估成人信息的研究报告。在第二阶段，两个焦点小组共有6名年龄在11 - 23岁的参与者，结果显示他们相对不太关注在线健康信息的质量和可信度。年龄较大的参与者报告说会判断网站的来源和作者，但其他参与者并未质疑他们在网上找到的信息来源。尽管个人网站被认为比知名医疗机构的网站可靠性低，但仍受到许多参与者的重视。总体而言，针对儿童的儿科慢性病相关网站相对较少，质量和可靠性参差不齐。然而，DISCERN在广泛发育阶段的儿科网站上的应用有限。儿童和青少年表现出需要更多关于评估在线信息可信度的指导。有必要使用一种更合适的质量评估工具，医疗保健专业人员、儿童和家长都可以有效地使用它。
