MD Undergraduate Program, University of British Columbia.
Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
J Clin Gastroenterol. 2022 Jan 1;56(1):64-71. doi: 10.1097/MCG.0000000000001477.
This study aims to evaluate the quality of online hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer) resources by using a validated tool to determine the strengths and limitations of hepatocellular carcinoma Web sites designed for patient education.
In recent years, online health information-seeking behavior has become more prevalent. Meanwhile, hepatocellular carcinoma incidence rates have also increased. However, there is currently limited literature assessing the quality of online hepatocellular carcinoma information.
The term "hepatocellular carcinoma" was searched using the search engine Google and the meta-search engines Dogpile and Yippy. A validated rating tool was used to assign quality scores to 100 Web sites based on the domains of Web site affiliation, accountability, interactivity, structure and organization, readability, and content quality. Overall quality scores were tallied for all Web sites.
Noncommercial hepatocellular carcinoma Web sites received significantly higher overall quality scores compared with their commercial counterparts. Overall, 30% of the Web sites identified their author(s), 42% cited sources, and 33% were updated within the past 2 years. The majority of Web sites utilized at least 1 interactive feature and 4 structural tools. Average readability was at a grade 11.8 level using the Flesch-Kincaid grading system, which is significantly higher than the recommended grade 6 level. Definition and treatment were the most commonly covered topics, while prevention and prognosis were the least commonly covered.
The quality of online hepatocellular carcinoma information is highly variable. Health care professionals should be aware of its limitations and be proactive in guiding patients to reliable resources.
本研究旨在使用经过验证的工具评估在线肝细胞癌（原发性肝癌）资源的质量，以确定专为患者教育设计的肝细胞癌网站的优势和局限性。
近年来，在线健康信息搜索行为变得越来越普遍。同时，肝细胞癌的发病率也有所增加。然而，目前评估在线肝细胞癌信息质量的文献有限。
使用搜索引擎 Google 以及元搜索引擎 Dogpile 和 Yippy 搜索“肝细胞癌”一词。使用经过验证的评分工具，根据网站隶属关系、问责制、交互性、结构和组织、可读性和内容质量等领域，为 100 个网站分配质量评分。为所有网站计算总体质量评分。
与商业网站相比，非商业性肝细胞癌网站的总体质量评分明显更高。总体而言，30%的网站明确了作者，42%的网站引用了来源，33%的网站在过去 2 年内进行了更新。大多数网站至少使用了 1 个交互功能和 4 个结构工具。使用 Flesch-Kincaid 分级系统，平均可读性为 11.8 级，显著高于推荐的 6 级。定义和治疗是最常涵盖的主题，而预防和预后则是最不常涵盖的主题。
在线肝细胞癌信息的质量差异很大。医疗保健专业人员应该意识到其局限性，并积极引导患者寻找可靠的资源。
