Purdy Amanda C, Idriss Almoatazbellah, Ahern Susan, Lin Elizabeth, Elfenbein Dawn M
Department of Surgery, University of California Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA.
Department of Medicine, University of California Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA.
Surgery. 2017 Nov;162(5):1148-1154. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2017.07.011. Epub 2017 Aug 30.
National guidelines emphasize the importance of incorporating patient preferences into the recommendations for the treatment of Graves' disease. Many patients use the Internet to obtain health information, and search results can affect their treatment decisions. This study compares the readability and accuracy of patient-oriented online resources for the treatment of Graves' disease by website affiliation and treatment modality.
A systematic Internet search was used to identify the top websites discussing the treatment of Graves' disease. Readability was measured using 5 standardized tests. Accuracy was assessed by a blinded, expert panel, which scored the accuracy of sites on a scale of 1 to 5. Mean readability and accuracy scores were compared among website affiliations and treatment modalities.
We identified 13 unique websites, including 2 academic, 2 government, 5 nonprofit, and 4 private sites. There was a difference in both readability (mean 13.2, range 9.1-15.7, P = .003) and accuracy (mean 4.04, range 2.75-4.50, P = .019) based on website affiliation. Government sites (mean readability 11.1) were easier to read than academic (14.3, P < .01), nonprofit (13.9, P < .01), and private sites (13.5, P < .05). Academic sites (mean accuracy 4.50) were more accurate than private sites (3.56, P < .05).
Online patient resources for the treatment of Graves' disease are written at an inappropriately high reading level. Academic sites contain both the most accurate and the most difficult to read information. Private sites represented the majority of our top results but contained the least accurate information.
国家指南强调在格雷夫斯病治疗建议中纳入患者偏好的重要性。许多患者通过互联网获取健康信息，搜索结果会影响他们的治疗决策。本研究按网站隶属关系和治疗方式比较了面向患者的格雷夫斯病治疗在线资源的可读性和准确性。
采用系统的互联网搜索来识别讨论格雷夫斯病治疗的顶级网站。使用5种标准化测试来衡量可读性。由一个盲法专家小组评估准确性，该小组根据1至5分的量表对网站的准确性进行评分。比较了网站隶属关系和治疗方式之间的平均可读性和准确性得分。
我们识别出13个不同的网站，包括2个学术网站、2个政府网站、5个非营利网站和4个私人网站。基于网站隶属关系，可读性（平均为13.2，范围为9.1 - 15.7，P = 0.003）和准确性（平均为4.04，范围为2.75 - 4.50，P = 0.019）均存在差异。政府网站（平均可读性为11.1）比学术网站（14.3，P < 0.01）、非营利网站（13.9，P < 0.01）和私人网站（13.5，P < 0.05）更容易阅读。学术网站（平均准确性为4.50）比私人网站（3.56，P < 0.05）更准确。
用于格雷夫斯病治疗的在线患者资源的写作水平过高，不适合患者阅读。学术网站包含最准确但也最难读懂的信息。私人网站在我们的顶级搜索结果中占大多数，但包含的准确信息最少。
