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Online information on Crohn's disease in Chinese: an evaluation of its quality and readability
Author(s) -
Bai Xiao Yin,
Zhang Yong Wei,
Li Ji,
Li Yue,
Qian Jia Ming
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of digestive diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.684
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1751-2980
pISSN - 1751-2972
DOI - 10.1111/1751-2980.12822
Subject(s) - readability , medicine , the internet , consistency (knowledge bases) , quality (philosophy) , disease , information quality , patient education , family medicine , world wide web , computer science , information system , artificial intelligence , philosophy , epistemology , electrical engineering , programming language , engineering
Objective To assess the quality and readability of patient‐education information on Crohn's disease on the internet in China. Methods Baidu and Sogou were chosen as search engines, and the top 58 webpages on Crohn's disease meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated. After the data were screened, the quality of information was assessed by two specialists using a simplified DISCERN system. Different levels of official Chinese‐teaching materials were used to build a readability model to predict the readability of these information. Results Altogether 13 pieces of information were included in this study, all of which were derived from commercial webpages. The simplified DISCERN system found an excellent consistency in the Chinese literature, and Spearman's coefficient was 0.685, 0.556 and 0.607, respectively ( P < 0.001), for publication reliability, treatment options and the total score. Most of the information lacked clear sources and conflicts of interest statements. The corresponding DISCERN scores were all below 2. In terms of treatment options, many webpages did not provide adequate information about the prognosis, possible side effects of treatment and risks of developing cancer. The scores of treatment‐related DISCERN items were all below 2 as well. The webpages did not show enough readability. Altogether 84.6% of the information exceeded the middle‐school readability level, and 69.2% exceeded the high‐school level. Conclusions The quality of patient‐education information on Crohn's disease on the internet in China is worrisome, with poor readability, which should be addressed by the academic community.