Krewulak Karla, Strayer Kathryn, Jaworska Natalia, Spence Krista, Foster Nadine, Kupsch Scotty, Sauro Khara, Fiest Kirsten M
Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Department of Community Health Sciences and O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
J Med Internet Res. 2025 Feb 20;27:e53087. doi: 10.2196/53087.
Patients and families who have experienced delirium may seek information about delirium online, but the quality and reliability of online delirium-related websites are unknown.
This study aimed to identify and evaluate online delirium-related websites that could be used for patient and family education.
We searched Microsoft Bing, Google, and Yahoo using the keywords "delirium" and the misspelled "delerium" to identify delirium-related websites created to inform patients, families, and members of the public about delirium. The quality of identified delirium-related website content was evaluated by 2 authors using the validated DISCERN tool and the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) benchmark criteria. Readability was assessed with the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, the Flesch Reading Ease score, and the Flesch Kincaid grade level. Each piece of website content was assessed for its delirium-related information using a checklist of items co-designed by a working group, which included patients, families, researchers, and clinicians.
We identified 106 websites targeted toward patients and families, with most hospital-affiliated (21/106, 20%) from commercial websites (20/106, 19%), government-affiliated organizations (19/106, 18%), or from a foundation or advocacy group (16/106, 15%). The median time since the last content update was 3 (IQR 2-5) years. Most websites' content (101/106, 95%) was written at a reading level higher than the recommended grade 6 level. The median DISCERN total score was 42 (IQR 33-50), with scores ranging from 20 (very poor quality) to 78 (excellent quality). The median delirium-related content score was 8 (IQR 6-9), with scores ranging from 1 to 12. Many websites lacked information on the short- and long-term outcomes of delirium as well as how common it is. The median JAMA benchmark score was 1 (IQR 1-3), indicating the quality of the websites' content had poor transparency.
We identified high-quality websites that could be used to educate patients, families, or the public about delirium. While most delirium-related website content generally meets quality standards based on DISCERN and JAMA benchmark criteria, high scores do not always ensure patient and family-friendliness. Many of the top-rated delirium content were text-heavy and complex in layout, which could be overwhelming for users seeking clear, concise information. Future efforts should prioritize the development of websites with patients and families, considering usability, accessibility, and cultural relevance to ensure they are truly effective for delirium education.
经历过谵妄的患者及其家属可能会在网上搜索有关谵妄的信息，但网上与谵妄相关网站的质量和可靠性尚不清楚。
本研究旨在识别和评估可用于患者及家属教育的网上与谵妄相关的网站。
我们使用关键词“谵妄”以及拼写错误的“delerium”在微软必应、谷歌和雅虎上进行搜索，以识别为向患者、家属及公众提供谵妄信息而创建的与谵妄相关的网站。由两名作者使用经过验证的DISCERN工具和《美国医学会杂志》（JAMA）基准标准对所识别的与谵妄相关网站内容的质量进行评估。使用“简明语言衡量标准”、“弗莱什易读性得分”和“弗莱什-金凯德年级水平”来评估可读性。使用一个由患者、家属、研究人员和临床医生共同设计的项目清单，对每篇网站内容的谵妄相关信息进行评估。
我们识别出106个面向患者和家属的网站，其中大多数来自商业网站（20/106，19%）、政府附属组织（19/106，18%）或基金会或倡导团体（16/106，15%），与医院相关的网站占21/106（20%）。自上次内容更新以来的中位时间为3年（四分位间距2 - 5年）。大多数网站的内容（101/106，95%）的阅读水平高于推荐的6年级水平。DISCERN总分的中位数为42分（四分位间距33 - 50），分数范围为20分（质量非常差）至78分（质量优秀）。谵妄相关内容得分的中位数为8分（四分位间距6 - 9），分数范围为1至12分。许多网站缺乏关于谵妄短期和长期后果以及其常见程度的信息。JAMA基准得分的中位数为1分（四分位间距1 - 3），表明网站内容的质量透明度较差。
我们识别出了可用于对患者、家属或公众进行谵妄教育的高质量网站。虽然大多数与谵妄相关的网站内容总体上符合基于DISCERN和JAMA基准标准的质量标准，但高分并不总是能确保对患者和家属友好。许多排名靠前的谵妄内容文本冗长且布局复杂，这对于寻求清晰、简洁信息的用户来说可能会令其应接不暇。未来的工作应优先与患者和家属共同开发网站，考虑可用性、可及性和文化相关性，以确保它们对谵妄教育真正有效。
