The use of the Internet to seek information about
health-related topics is growing at a rapid pace. Recent studies are showing
that 8 of 10 Internet users seek health information while online. It is
becoming quite common that patients seek information about their condition
prior to seeking care from a physician. Furthermore, more than half of patients
seek contact with a medical doctor because of information they have found
online!
A very interesting study performed by two academic ENT
surgeons – Dr. Pusz and dr. Brietzke – was recently published in Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery journal. They tried to critically evaluate the quality
of information typically encountered by an ENT patient searching the Internet
about common ENT problems. The evaluation was performed using validated
questionnaire (named DISCERN instrument) developed at Oxford University to
judge the quality of written consumer health information.
Web sites included in the study were identified using
the Google as the largest Internet search engine. Ten commonly treated ENT problems
(“ear infection”, “sinus infection”, “snoring”, “hoarseness” etc.) were entered
into the Google, and the first 10 Web site results for each condition were
included in the analysis, yielding a total of 100 Web sites. Of these 100 Web
sites, 19 were immediately excluded from further analysis because their main
purpose was a message board solicitation or advertisement for a product.
The average quality score for all Web sites was 2.85 out
of maximum of 5. In summary, the quality and comprehensiveness of the Internet
information were less than ideal. More than half of the Web sites received a
score of less than 3, and 38% received a score of less than 2, indicating that
the information that was provided was of exceedingly poor quality. These sites
lacked basic information about the source and the currency of the information
and did not thoroughly discuss all treatment options. Only 10% Web sites
received a score of 4 or greater, indicating a high-quality source of
information. Most of these were major health Web sites, such as WebMD,
EMedicinehealth.com or Mayoclinic.com.
Results of the study warn that patients who are seeking ENT
information on the Internet are likely exposed to a substantial amount of questionable
information. Furthermore, the search results for chronic problems (when
compared to acute problems) resulted in a higher amount of biased
advertisements. Medical doctors should also be aware of these findings and
relay this information to patients!
Dr. Sasa
Janjanin is double European Board-certified in ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery. He
extensively trained in complete surgical and medical treatment of patients with
disorders and diseases of the head and neck. However, his major expertise is in
facial plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery; problems related to thyroid
and parathyroid glands; skin cancer; kid’s ENT problems; nose, sinus and
snoring complaints; and sport and diving-related ENT problems.
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