Evaluating the quality of websites relating to diet and eating disorders

Abstract

Objective: To verify whether the Credibility Indicator is able to evaluate the quality of websites. Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study of websites on diet and anorexia ⁄ bulimia, using searches on Google to access the study population. Quality was studied using 22 variables selected by consolidating international proposals. In addition, eight variables belonging to the Credibility Indicator were also studied. Results: Three hundred and fifty four homepages relating to diet and 366 homepages relating to anorexia ⁄ bulimia were evaluated. None of the websites met all of the quality criteria; neither did any website satisfy all of the Credibility Indicators. A positive correlation was observed between fulfilment of the Quality items and the Credibility Indicator (R = 0.72; P < 0.001). Significant differences were found in the fulfilment of the Total Quality variables between the websites that had these variables and those that did not (t-test = )9.91, P < 0.001).Conclusions: The quality of websites covering issues of diet and anorexia ⁄ bulimia is still poor. The Credibility Indicator is a useful aid when determining the quality of a website. It is evident that identifying authorship and affiliation is an important factor in predicting the quality of the information.Keywords: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, diet, communication health, information dissemination, internet, quality control. Key messages Implications for Practice• The need to evaluate the abundance of health-related information available on the Internet.• The poor quality of websites related to diet and anorexia ⁄ bulimia.• Knowing the authorship and affiliation of the website, regardless whether the website is specifically related to diet or anorexia ⁄ bulimia, is an important factor in predicting the quality of the information.• The Credibility Indicator is a useful aid when determining the quality of a website.• It is useful to note whether the website benefits from quality accreditation certification from organizations such as HONcode and Web Médica Acreditada, which would provide the necessary confidence in the website content. Implications for Policy• Those responsible for health-related websites should consider the quality criteria set out by the main international health agencies.• Evaluating the quality of health-related websites is necessary.• It may be necessary to insist on the construction of Quality Indicators, which are readily understood, to evaluate effectively the many health-related websites.

Does googling for preconception care result in information consistent with international guidelines: a comparison of information found by Italian women of childbearing age and health professionals

“…The insufficient presence of this recommendation, in particular on websites found by women of childbearing age, parallels the results from other studies that show a poor quality of nutritional information on the Internet for patients with specific medical conditions [33-35]. …”

Evaluación de la calidad de las páginas Web sobre el Hospital a Domicilio: el Indicador de Credibilidad como factor pronóstico

“…El incumplimiento de los criterios sobre la fecha de actualización, aval, acreditación y financiación, también ha sido observado en estudios previos (9,13). La falta de atención por los responsables de las Webs coincide con el bajo uso y consulta, de estos ítems, por la población general.…”

“…A partir de estas propuestas, Guardiola-Wanden-Berghe et al (9), refundieron en 22 ítems las variables sobre calidad Web aportadas por las principales instituciones, demostrando a su vez una correlación positiva entre el cumplimiento de las variables de calidad y el Indicador de Credibilidad (8 ítems). Esta correspondencia daba al usuario general la posibilidad de valorar la calidad de una determinada Web utilizando tan solo 8 variables de fácil comprensión.…”

Do quality markers for health websites affect the perception of vaccination webpages?

“…As the interest in using the Internet for seeking health-related content was growing, research began to question the quality of online health information [35][36][37][38][39]. Given that the Internet offers the opportunity to everyone with a connection to publish health information, studies have found a high variance in the quality of content [39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. As a reaction, international organizations and well-known research institutions created various sets of evaluation criteria and started multiple initiatives for assessing the quality of health-related information available online (e.g., Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab, The Health On the Net Foundation (HON) code of conduct [46], DISCERN [47]).…”