Discectomy-Related Information on the Internet: Does the Quality Follow the Surge?

Abstract

Introduction Over 2.5 billion users search the internet world wide. 70%- 80% look at health related information, yet no standards exist regarding the publication of medical literature on the internet. The quality of health information is of much concern and an emphasis on appraisal of internet Web sites is needed. We aim to look at the quality of health information on the internet relating to discectomy using various standardised tools and scoring systems. Material and Methods The three most commonly used search engines were identified and a search for “Discectomy” was performed on each. Two reviewers categorized the most popular Web sites according to their types and the quality of each was assessed using recognized scoring systems including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark, DISCERN and a novel Discectomy-specific content score. The quality of the information was also assessed according to the presence or absence of the Health on the Net (HON) code, a reported quality-assurance marker. Results Results confirmed that 53 websites were identified, and analyzed. Commercial Web sites were predominant at 24, 7 were governmental, 6 were produced by physicians, none were produced by allied health professionals, 3 were academic, 4 were public health information Web sites, 4 were attached to social media and discussion groups, 3 were media related, and 2 were unspecified. Using the 3 scoring systems mentioned above as a quality marker, internet sites with a 'Health on the Net’ (HON) code demonstrated significantly higher quality than those without the code (p < 0.0001). Public health information Web sites attained the highest overall DISCERN and Discectomy-specific scores followed by the Governmental & Non-Profit Organizations Web sites. Conclusion The overall quality of information regarding discectomy remains poor and variable despite an exponential increase in the number of users and Websites, with a slight trend toward improvement. Only 20% to 30% are of good quality, compared with that 10 years ago (<10%). Presence of Health on the Net code is a very reliable marker for health information quality.