Brief DISCERN, six questions for the evaluation of evidence-based content of health-related websites

Khazaal, Yasser; Chatton, Anne; Cochand, Sophie; Coquard, Olivier; Fernandez, Sébastien; Khan, Riaz Ahmad; Billieux, Joël; Zullino, Daniele

doi:10.1016/j.pec.2009.02.016

Cited by 96 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The DISCERN tool, while useful for this study, may not be the quickest or easiest option for parents and other consumers. The six-item Brief DISCERN (Khazaal et al, 2009) is aimed at quickly evaluating the quality of health information materials and may be more appropriate for parents to use. Regardless of which, if any, tool or method parents use to determine the quality of web-based information, the importance of discussing intervention options with their health professional cannot be understated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to website authors providing the research evidence that underpins claims made about treatment efficacy, parents should be educated to better understand and evaluate the information they are finding on the Internet. The DISCERN tool used for this study is now publicly available in full and there is also a shorter version (the Brief DISCERN) (Khazaal et al, 2009) that parents can be encouraged to use as well (Charnock & Shepperd, 2004). In addition, a version has been made available on the Autism CRC website health hub (www.autismcrc.com.au).…”

Section: Chapter 7 -Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Assisting parents of children with autism to make intervention decisions by improving their health literacy about evidence

Grant¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Parents of children newly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are faced with the daunting task of choosing from numerous autism interventions. At the time this research project began, little was understood about how parents made decisions for their child following the diagnosis. A few groups and organisations, in Australia and overseas, have designed and disseminated resources in various formats to help parents with decision making, but none had been evaluated in a clinical trial that tested the effectiveness of the resource in facilitating this process. Based on a review of the literature, and with consideration for the gap in research on this topic, a mixed methodology project was designed. The project incorporated five studies aiming to: 1) develop an understanding of the information that parents of children with ASD currently use to make intervention decisions, and their information preferences; 2) develop an understanding of parents' decision making processes; 3) evaluate the quality of information most commonly accessed by parents, particularly web-based information; 4) determine how best to help parents understand what interventions are available and how they are classified; and 5) develop and conduct a pilot evaluation of the effectiveness of a decision aid. Study 1 was a cross sectional survey of Autism Advisors, and parents across Australia who were accessing the Helping Children With Autism (HCWA) funding package. The study aimed to obtain a better understanding of how parents made decisions about autism interventions, and which resources they accessed to obtain intervention information. Participants were Autism Advisors (n=13) and parents (n=113) attending initial consultations with an Autism Advisor. After determining that parents frequently accessed the Internet for ASD intervention information, it was considered important to investigate the quality of information parents were likely to be finding. Study 2 analysed the quality of health information in a sample of autism-related websites using a valid and reliable health information evaluation tool called DISCERN. This study found that websites were of variable quality and frequently lacked references to research evidence. Study 3 involved conducting focus groups and individual interviews with parents (n = 23) whose children were aged under 18 years and diagnosed with an ASD.iii The aim was to further investigate parents' decision making processes and further explore the various formats and sources of information used. This study revealed that parents engaged in both a pragmatic and emotional journey and gained confidence over time in relation to their decision making regarding interventions for their child. Study 4 involved developing a web-based decision aid informed by the results of the first three studies, and with consideration for the literature on shared decision making, health literacy and patient education.The resource aimed to assist parents to make better-informed decisions about autism interventions, with considera...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chapter 7 -Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assisting parents of children with autism to make intervention decisions by improving their health literacy about evidence

Grant¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We evaluated them by using tools from previous studies and modified instruments from quality evaluation studies of websites [51,52,53,54,55,56,57], as well as instruments represented in various studies on the quality of smartphone apps [22,23,37,38,44]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Brief DISCERN [52] is a 6-item evaluation instrument adapted from DISCERN [61]. It is designed to assist lay users to assess the quality of health information given about a treatment choice.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of Smartphone Apps Related to Alcohol Use Disorder

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Apps for smartphones are opening an important range of opportunities for improving the care of people with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of English language apps for AUDs and to compare paid and free apps. The keywords ‘alcohol', ‘alcohol addiction', ‘alcohol help' and ‘stop drinking' were entered into the iTunes Store search engine. Apps were evaluated using a standardized assessment designed to rate the quality of apps in terms of accountability, interactivity, self-help score and evidence-based content. The Brief DISCERN score and the criteria of the ‘Health on the Net' label were also used as content quality indicators. Results and Conclusions: Of the 137 unique apps identified, 52 met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the content quality and self-help scores of these AUD apps were poor. The main quality indicators were not linked to payment status. Multiple linear regressions showed that the Brief DISCERN score significantly predicted content quality. Poor content quality and self-help scores of AUD smartphone apps underline the gap between their potential promises and the overall quality of available products in stores. The quality indicators used in the present study may be used for further app developments.

show abstract

“…More recently, a new, shortened version, namely the Brief DISCERN guide has been designed. The validation tests carried out on a sample of mental health-related websites have shown satisfactory results [119].…”

Section: Discernmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Quality of Online Health-Related Information – an Emergent Consumer Health Issue

Nădășan

2016

Acta Medica Marisiensis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Internet has become one of the main means of communication used by people who search for health-related information. The quality of online health-related information affects the users' knowledge, their attitude, and their risk or health behaviour in complex ways and influences a substantial number of users in their decisions regarding diagnostic and treatment procedures. The aim of this review is to explore the benefits and risks associated with using the Internet as a source of health-related information; the relationship between the quality of the health-related information available on the Internet and the potential risks; the multiple conceptual components of the quality of health-related information; the evaluation criteria for quality health-related information; and the main approaches and initiatives that have been implemented worldwide to help improve users' access to high-quality health-related information.

show abstract

Brief DISCERN, six questions for the evaluation of evidence-based content of health-related websites

Cited by 96 publications

References 18 publications

Assisting parents of children with autism to make intervention decisions by improving their health literacy about evidence

Assisting parents of children with autism to make intervention decisions by improving their health literacy about evidence

Quality of Smartphone Apps Related to Alcohol Use Disorder

The Quality of Online Health-Related Information – an Emergent Consumer Health Issue

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About