TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality assessment of websites providing educational content for patients with rheumatoid arthritis
AU - Siddhanamatha, Harish Rajashekarappa
AU - Heung, Eric
AU - Lopez-Olivo, Maria de los Angeles
AU - Abdel-Wahab, Noha
AU - Ojeda-Prias, Ana
AU - Willcockson, Irmgard
AU - Leong, Amye
AU - Suarez-Almazor, Maria Eugenia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017
PY - 2017/6
Y1 - 2017/6
N2 - Objective We performed an environmental scan of currently available websites providing educational information about rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and evaluated the quality of these websites. Methods We searched three separate search engines, Google, Bing, and Ask.com, on August 27, 2015, using two search terms, “arthritis” and “rheumatoid.” Only patient education websites were included. Two independent investigators evaluated the accuracy, completeness, technical elements, design and esthetics, readability, usability, and accessibility of the websites. The navigation experience was also evaluated by an adult training expert. Results We identified 46 websites. Nearly all websites (98%) provided accurate information. However, no website covered all essential RA topics. Common essential topics not covered included epidemiology, pathogenesis, treatment and disease monitoring, complications, self-management, risks and benefits of treatment, prognosis, treatment adherence, questions for patients to ask their doctors, and costs. For the technical elements, all websites disclosed their ownership, but the date that the content was last updated was mentioned in only 10 websites, ranging from 2007 to 2015. The mean reading level was grade 12.1 (standard deviation ±2.3). Most websites (78%) were easy to navigate but only 33% were friendly for people with visual and/or hearing impairments. The navigation experience was rated fair or poor in 41% of the websites. Conclusion Current patient information on the Internet does not comprehensively address all educational needs of patients with RA, and is often outdated. The findings from our study highlight potential areas for improvement in online education materials for patients with RA.
AB - Objective We performed an environmental scan of currently available websites providing educational information about rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and evaluated the quality of these websites. Methods We searched three separate search engines, Google, Bing, and Ask.com, on August 27, 2015, using two search terms, “arthritis” and “rheumatoid.” Only patient education websites were included. Two independent investigators evaluated the accuracy, completeness, technical elements, design and esthetics, readability, usability, and accessibility of the websites. The navigation experience was also evaluated by an adult training expert. Results We identified 46 websites. Nearly all websites (98%) provided accurate information. However, no website covered all essential RA topics. Common essential topics not covered included epidemiology, pathogenesis, treatment and disease monitoring, complications, self-management, risks and benefits of treatment, prognosis, treatment adherence, questions for patients to ask their doctors, and costs. For the technical elements, all websites disclosed their ownership, but the date that the content was last updated was mentioned in only 10 websites, ranging from 2007 to 2015. The mean reading level was grade 12.1 (standard deviation ±2.3). Most websites (78%) were easy to navigate but only 33% were friendly for people with visual and/or hearing impairments. The navigation experience was rated fair or poor in 41% of the websites. Conclusion Current patient information on the Internet does not comprehensively address all educational needs of patients with RA, and is often outdated. The findings from our study highlight potential areas for improvement in online education materials for patients with RA.
KW - Education
KW - Patient
KW - Quality reporting
KW - Rheumatoid arthritis
KW - Websites
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014028714&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2017.01.006
DO - 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2017.01.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 28258768
AN - SCOPUS:85014028714
SN - 0049-0172
VL - 46
SP - 715
EP - 723
JO - Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
JF - Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
IS - 6
ER -