Open AccessConceptual Framework for a New Tool for Evaluating the Quality of Diabetes Consumer-Information Web Sites
Author(s) -
Joshua Seidman,
Donald Steinwachs,
Haya R. Rubin
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
jmir. journal of medical internet research/journal of medical internet research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.446
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1439-4456
pISSN - 1438-8871
DOI - 10.2196/jmir.5.4.e29
Subject(s) - the internet , quality (philosophy) , information quality , health information , computer science , focus (optics) , data science , world wide web , knowledge management , information system , health care , engineering , philosophy , epistemology , economic growth , electrical engineering , economics , physics , optics
Background Most existing tools for measuring the quality of Internet health information focus almost exclusively on structural criteria or other proxies for quality of information, rather than evaluating information accuracy and comprehensiveness. Objective This research sought to build a conceptual framework that could lay the groundwork for a robust performance-measurement system for evaluating the quality of Internet health information. Methods Application of the quality-of-care measurement paradigm to developing a conceptual framework for defining and evaluating the quality of diabetes consumer-information Web sites. Results Performance measures related to accuracy and comprehensiveness of information can be added to structural criteria to provide a more-robust approach to Web site evaluation. Conclusions The development and implementation of a reliable and valid method for evaluating the quality of Internet health sites could provide lay people with a tool to identify useful content more easily and distinguish between beneficial and misleading information.