Bernard Stephanie, Cooke Tiffany, Cole Tascha, Hachani Laura, Bernard Johnathan
Stephanie Bernard is an assistant professor in the PA program at Shenandoah University in Leesburg, Va. Tiffany Cooke practices at Valley GI Consultants in Glendale, Ariz. Tascha Cole is a data manager for the PA program at Shenandoah University. Laura Hachani practices in the cardiac unit at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, Md. Johnathan Bernard is an orthopedic surgeon at the National Sports Medicine Institute in Leesburg, Va. Dr. Bernard discloses research/grant support from the Arthroscopy Association of North America, Smith and Nephew, Inc., and the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, and financial or material support from Supreme Orthopedic Systems, LLC, and Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
JAAPA. 2018 Nov;31(11):41-44. doi: 10.1097/01.JAA.0000546481.02560.4e.
The internet has become a vital resource through which patients learn about medical conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the quality and readability of online information about nutrition and diabetes management.
An internet search was conducted using three search terms of varying sophistication (how to eat with diabetes, diabetes diet, and medical nutrition therapy for diabetes) and the three most popular search engines (Yahoo, Bing, and Google). Forty-two websites were prospectively analyzed for quality of information and assessed for readability using the Flesch-Kincaid score.
The 42 websites reviewed demonstrated wide variability in quality, regardless of the search term entered. The reading level required to understand the materials varied based on sophistication of the search term and ranged from the 6th- to the 11th-grade level.
The quality of online information on nutrition education for patients with diabetes was extremely variable and readability often was higher than the average American reading level (8th grade). An awareness of quality and readability of the materials found on the internet can strengthen the patient-provider relationship.
互联网已成为患者了解医疗状况的重要资源。本研究旨在评估有关营养与糖尿病管理的在线信息的质量和可读性。
使用三个不同复杂程度的搜索词（如何应对糖尿病饮食、糖尿病饮食、糖尿病医学营养治疗）以及三个最受欢迎的搜索引擎（雅虎、必应和谷歌）进行互联网搜索。前瞻性分析了42个网站的信息质量，并使用弗莱什-金凯德评分法评估其可读性。
无论输入何种搜索词，所审查的42个网站在质量上都表现出很大差异。理解这些材料所需的阅读水平因搜索词的复杂程度而异，范围从六年级到十一年级水平。
糖尿病患者营养教育的在线信息质量极其参差不齐，可读性通常高于美国平均阅读水平（八年级）。了解互联网上材料的质量和可读性有助于加强医患关系。
