Burke Eoghan, Harkins Patricia, Arumugasamy Mayilone
Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin, IRL.
Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), Dublin, IRL.
Cureus. 2024 Oct 17;16(10):e71691. doi: 10.7759/cureus.71691. eCollection 2024 Oct.
Introduction It is now commonplace for patients to consult the internet with health-related questions. Unfortunately, the quality of information provided to them online is highly variable. Ensuring that patients get high-quality, reliable information is essential for all pathologies. Gastric cancer (GC), with its often subtle early symptoms and signs, is one such pathology where early identification is crucial. Ensuring high-quality information availability online for GC is thus essential to increasing rates of early detection. Aims This study aimed to assess the quality and readability of information posted on websites related to GC. Materials and methods We applied the search term "gastric cancer" or "stomach cancer" to the top three search engines, namely Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, we identified 20 unique websites posting information related to gastric cancer (GC). We then assessed the quality and readability of the information posted on these websites. We used recognized tools to complete these assessments, including the JAMA benchmark criteria, the DISCERN tool, the Flesch Reading Ease score (FRES), and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). We also developed and used a novel GC-specific content assessment tool. Furthermore, we assessed whether or not each website was awarded the Health on the Internet Seal of Approval. Results The average JAMA score was 1.55, with none of the twenty unique websites scoring the maximum 4 points. The average DISCERN score was 54.8 (68.5%), with no website achieving the maximum of 80. The HON seal was present in only six websites (30%). The average GCSCS score was 11, with only five websites achieving a maximum score of 13 (25%). The average FRES and FKGL were 52.7 and 9.7, respectively. Conclusion Our study underscores the critical need for more high-quality, reliable information about GC online. We also emphasize the importance of ensuring this information is comprehensible to most patients, as it directly impacts their health outcomes.
引言 患者通过互联网咨询健康相关问题如今已很常见。不幸的是，在线提供给他们的信息质量参差不齐。确保患者获得高质量、可靠的信息对所有病症来说都至关重要。胃癌（GC）早期症状和体征往往不明显，是早期识别至关重要的此类病症之一。因此，确保在线有高质量的胃癌信息对于提高早期检测率至关重要。目的 本研究旨在评估与胃癌相关网站上发布信息的质量和可读性。材料与方法 我们将搜索词“胃癌”或“ 胃癌”应用于三大搜索引擎，即谷歌、雅虎和必应。使用预定义的纳入和排除标准，我们确定了20个发布与胃癌（GC）相关信息的独特网站。然后我们评估了这些网站上发布信息的质量和可读性。我们使用公认的工具来完成这些评估，包括《美国医学会杂志》基准标准、DISCERN工具、弗莱什易读性评分（FRES）和弗莱什 - 金凯德年级水平（FKGL）。我们还开发并使用了一种新颖的特定于胃癌的内容评估工具。此外，我们评估了每个网站是否获得互联网健康认证标志。结果 《美国医学会杂志》平均得分为1.55，20个独特网站中没有一个获得最高分4分。DISCERN平均得分为54.8（68.5%），没有网站达到最高分80。只有六个网站（30%）有互联网健康认证标志。胃癌特定内容评分系统（GCSCS）平均得分为11，只有五个网站获得最高分13（25%）。FRES和FKGL的平均值分别为52.7和9.7。结论 我们的研究强调了在线提供更多关于胃癌的高质量、可靠信息的迫切需求。我们还强调确保这些信息大多数患者都能理解的重要性，因为这直接影响他们的健康结果。
