Dr Google – assessing the reliability and readability of information on general surgical procedures found via search engines

Abstract

Background The most common general surgical emergency operations are laparoscopic appendicectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hernia repair, hemorrhoidectomy and colectomy. Patients commonly perform an internet search for more information prior to undergoing surgery, which can lead to an inappropriate understanding of their procedure. The aim is to assess the quality of information available on three of the most used search engines. Methods A search was conducted on http://google.com, http://bing.com and http://yahoo.com using the terms related to laparoscopic appendicectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, hernia repair and colectomy. First 20 results from each search engine were collected for evaluation. Results were excluded if they were sponsored, duplicates, academic publications, advertisements, forums, audiovisual tools, social media or any non‐English information. Included results were assessed for reliability using DISCERN and JAMA benchmark score. Readability was assessed using Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) Score and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG). Results Hundred and ninety‐seven websites were analysed, 44.7% were published by institutions, 34.5% by health websites and 20.8% by independent surgeons. Mean DISCERN scores for Institutions was 54.6 ± 11.3, independent surgeons 45.9 ± 11.4 and health websites 58.7 ± 10.3. Mean JAMA score for Institutions was 1.0 ± 1.0, independent surgeons 0.1 ± 0.4 and health websites 1.7 ± 1.1. FRE scores for institutions was 51.6 ± 10.3, independent surgeons 40.9 ± 10.2, and health websites 45.7 ± 12.3. SMOG scores were 9.8 ± 1.5 for institutions, 11.4 ± 1.6 for independent surgeons and 10.6 ± 1.7 for health websites. Conclusion Health information on common general surgical procedures found on search engines are generally fair to good quality but still above the suggested reading level of the population. Information on surgical procedures should be written at recommended reading level of 13–14 years old.

The Quality, Readability, and Accuracy of the Information on Google About Cannabis and Driving: Quantitative Content Analysis

“…The majority of the content was written at a higher level of reading, which would often be used in academic settings or postsecondary education. The paucity of web pages written at levels that were considered universally readable was consistent with other health information topics on the internet (eg, general surgical procedures [ 56 ] and total joint arthroplasty [ 57 ]), suggesting that this could be a wider issue than solely information on cannabis [ 33 , 47 , 58 ]. Kruger et al [ 58 ] also suggests that significant efforts are still needed to provide accurate cannabis-related information on the internet for the health and safety of individuals and society [ 58 ].…”