Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Orthopaedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research (OrACORe), Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2018 Aug;26(8):1017-1026. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2018.04.017. Epub 2018 May 23.
Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of global disability. Numerous studies have assessed the quality and content of online health information; however, how information content varies between multiple countries remains unknown. The primary objective of this study was to examine how the quality and content of online health information on osteoarthritis compares on an international scale.
Internet searches for the equivalent of "knee osteoarthritis treatment" were performed in ten countries around the world. For each country, the first ten websites were evaluated using a custom scoring form examining: website type; quality and reliability using the DISCERN and Health-on-the-Net (HON) frameworks; and treatment content based on three international osteoarthritis treatment guidelines. Consistency of search results between countries speaking the same language was also assessed.
Significant differences in all scoring metrics existed between countries speaking different languages. Western countries scored higher than more eastern countries, there were no differences between the United States and Mexico in any of the scoring metrics, and HON certified websites were of higher quality and reliability. Searches in different countries speaking the same language had at least 70% overlap.
The quality of online health information on knee osteoarthritis varies significantly between countries speaking different languages. Differential access to quality, accurate, and safe health information online may represent a novel but important health inequality. Future efforts are needed to translate online health resources into additional languages. In the interim, patients may seek websites that display the HON seal.
骨关节炎是全球致残的主要原因之一。许多研究已经评估了在线健康信息的质量和内容；然而，多个国家之间的信息内容差异仍不清楚。本研究的主要目的是检查骨关节炎在线健康信息的质量和内容在国际范围内的差异。
在全球十个国家进行了相当于“膝关节骨关节炎治疗”的互联网搜索。对于每个国家，使用一个自定义评分表评估前十个网站：网站类型；使用 DISCERN 和 Health-on-the-Net (HON) 框架评估质量和可靠性；根据三个国际骨关节炎治疗指南评估治疗内容。还评估了讲同一种语言的国家之间搜索结果的一致性。
讲不同语言的国家之间的所有评分指标都存在显著差异。西方国家的评分高于更多的东方国家，美国和墨西哥在任何评分指标上都没有差异，并且 HON 认证的网站质量和可靠性更高。讲同一种语言的不同国家的搜索结果至少有 70%的重叠。
讲不同语言的国家之间膝关节骨关节炎在线健康信息的质量存在显著差异。在线获取优质、准确和安全健康信息的机会差异可能代表一种新的但重要的健康不平等。需要努力将在线健康资源翻译成其他语言。在此期间，患者可能会寻求显示 HON 印章的网站。
