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Citation
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HERO ID
3206613
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
The Quality of Rhinoplasty Health Information on the Internet
Author(s)
Haymes, AT
Year
2016
Is Peer Reviewed?
Yes
Journal
Annals of Plastic Surgery
ISSN:
0148-7043
EISSN:
1536-3708
Volume
76
Issue
2
Page Numbers
143-149
Language
English
PMID
26761153
DOI
10.1097/SAP.0000000000000660
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Patients considering rhinoplasty often use internet health information resources before consultation with a surgeon. These can be beneficial and promote patient autonomy if high quality or be detrimental if misleading impressions about results and complications are reported as fact. This study aimed to objectively assess the quality of health information regarding rhinoplasty on the internet.
METHODS:
The 3 most popular search engines in the United Kingdom (Google, Bing, and Yahoo) were searched using 4 different terms relating to rhinoplasty. The first 30 links from each search were collated; 360 links in total were screened. Sixty-six suitable websites were examined using the LIDA and DISCERN instruments and had their Flesch Reading Ease Scores (FRES) calculated.
RESULTS:
The websites displayed low LIDA reliability scores (22%), moderate usability (61%) and high accessibility scores (87%). There was no correlation between a website's search result rank and its LIDA score (Spearman ρ = 0.033, P = 0.799). The DISCERN scores were generally low (mean 54%) and displayed no correlation with website rank (Spearman ρ = 0.070, P = 0.564). FRES values were less readable than that recommended for health information (mean FRES = 57.8; recommended ≥70) and significantly correlated with website rank (Spearman ρ = -0.3164; P = 0.009).
CONCLUSIONS:
Rhinoplasty internet health information is generally of low quality, unreliable and less readable than recommended. Improvements are needed to increase the quality of internet rhinoplasty resources for patients.
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