scholarly journals Quality Information about Uterine Fibroids on the Internet

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (09) ◽  
pp. 547-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Melo ◽  
Pedro Jallad ◽  
Luiz Brito
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Uterine Fibroids ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Median Score ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lay Women ◽  
Test Correlation

Objective There are no published studies analyzing the quality of the information for lay women on the Internet regarding uterine fibroids. The accuracy of the provided material is also unknown. Thus, we have performed a cross-sectional study with 381 websites in the English and Brazilian Portuguese languages between May and December 2017. Methods Two investigators performed the analysis, and the Cohen kappa coefficient was calculated to analyze the agreement between them. Search terms (uterine fibroids and derivatives) in the English and Brazilian Portuguese languages were used. The accuracy was analyzed by a 10-item checklist created based on the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) consensuses about uterine fibroids. The item–test correlation and the intraclass coefficient were performed in the 16 questions from the DISCERN instrument, which was designed to measure the quality of health information on the Internet. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) measurements were performed for the independent variables and the DISCERN/accuracy scores. Results Google was the most used search engine, and uterine fibroid was the search term that generated most of the analyzed material. The median score for accuracy in all websites was 5 out of 10, and the median score of the DISCERN instrument was 38 out of 80. The top-scoring sites in the English language were derived from scientific organizations and federal governments, and they regarded the DISCERN score (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG], the Food and Drug Administration [FDA]) and the accuracy criteria (NIH, and FDA). On the other hand, in the Brazilian Portuguese language, the highest scores in both instruments were from magazines or physician's blogs. The Cronbach α test showed a higher correlation (0.77–0.79) between the sites and DISCERN; however, the item–test correlation varied from 0.39 to 0.56. Conclusion There is a need to improve the quality of the information regarding uterine fibroids for lay women.

scholarly journals The Abortion Web Ecosystem: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Trustworthiness and Bias (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Han ◽  
Emily R Boniface ◽  
Lisa Yin Han ◽  
Jonathan Albright ◽  
Nora Doty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Disorders ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
News Article ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Median Score ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Pro Choice

BACKGROUND People use the internet as a primary source for learning about medical procedures and their associated safety profiles and risks. Although abortion is one of the most common procedures worldwide among women in their reproductive years, it is controversial and highly politicized. Substantial scientific evidence demonstrates that abortion is safe and does not increase a woman’s future risk for depressive disorders or infertility. The extent to which information found on the internet reflects these medical facts in a trustworthy and unbiased manner is not known. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to collate and describe the trustworthiness and political slant or bias of web-based information about abortion safety and risks of depression and infertility following abortion. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study of internet websites using 3 search topics: (1) is abortion safe?, (2) does abortion cause depression?, and (3) does abortion cause infertility? We used the Google Adwords tool to identify the search terms most associated with those topics and Google’s search engine to generate databases of websites related to each topic. We then classified and rated each website in terms of content slant (pro-choice, neutral, anti-choice), clarity of slant (obvious, in-between, or difficult/can’t tell), trustworthiness (rating scale of 1-5, 5=most trustworthy), type (forum, feature, scholarly article, resource page, news article, blog, or video), and top-level domain (.com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, or international domain). We compared website characteristics by search topic (safety, depression, or infertility) using bivariate tests. We summarized trustworthiness using the median and IQR, and we used box-and-whisker plots to visually compare trustworthiness by slant and domain type. RESULTS Our search methods yielded a total of 111, 120, and 85 unique sites for safety, depression, and infertility, respectively. Of all the sites (n=316), 57.3% (181/316) were neutral, 35.4% (112/316) were anti-choice, and 7.3% (23/316) were pro-choice. The median trustworthiness score was 2.7 (IQR 1.7-3.7), which did not differ significantly across topics (<i>P</i>=.409). Anti-choice sites were less trustworthy (median score 1.3, IQR 1.0-1.7) than neutral (median score 3.3, IQR 2.7-4.0) and pro-choice (median score 3.7, IQR 3.3-4.3) sites. Anti-choice sites were also more likely to have slant clarity that was “difficult to tell” (41/112, 36.6%) compared with neutral (25/181, 13.8%) or pro-choice (4/23, 17.4%; <i>P</i>&lt;.001) sites. A negative search term used for the topic of safety (eg, “risks”) produced sites with lower trustworthiness scores than search terms with the word “safety” (median score 1.7 versus 3.7, respectively; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS People seeking information about the safety and potential risks of abortion are likely to encounter a substantial amount of untrustworthy and slanted/biased abortion information. Anti-choice sites are prevalent, often difficult to identify as anti-choice, and less trustworthy than neutral or pro-choice sites. Web searches may lead the public to believe abortion is riskier than it is.

scholarly journals The Abortion Web Ecosystem: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Trustworthiness and Bias

10.2196/20619 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. e20619
Author(s):  
Leo Han ◽  
Emily R Boniface ◽  
Lisa Yin Han ◽  
Jonathan Albright ◽  
Nora Doty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Disorders ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
News Article ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Median Score ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Pro Choice

Background People use the internet as a primary source for learning about medical procedures and their associated safety profiles and risks. Although abortion is one of the most common procedures worldwide among women in their reproductive years, it is controversial and highly politicized. Substantial scientific evidence demonstrates that abortion is safe and does not increase a woman’s future risk for depressive disorders or infertility. The extent to which information found on the internet reflects these medical facts in a trustworthy and unbiased manner is not known. Objective The purpose of this study was to collate and describe the trustworthiness and political slant or bias of web-based information about abortion safety and risks of depression and infertility following abortion. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of internet websites using 3 search topics: (1) is abortion safe?, (2) does abortion cause depression?, and (3) does abortion cause infertility? We used the Google Adwords tool to identify the search terms most associated with those topics and Google’s search engine to generate databases of websites related to each topic. We then classified and rated each website in terms of content slant (pro-choice, neutral, anti-choice), clarity of slant (obvious, in-between, or difficult/can’t tell), trustworthiness (rating scale of 1-5, 5=most trustworthy), type (forum, feature, scholarly article, resource page, news article, blog, or video), and top-level domain (.com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, or international domain). We compared website characteristics by search topic (safety, depression, or infertility) using bivariate tests. We summarized trustworthiness using the median and IQR, and we used box-and-whisker plots to visually compare trustworthiness by slant and domain type. Results Our search methods yielded a total of 111, 120, and 85 unique sites for safety, depression, and infertility, respectively. Of all the sites (n=316), 57.3% (181/316) were neutral, 35.4% (112/316) were anti-choice, and 7.3% (23/316) were pro-choice. The median trustworthiness score was 2.7 (IQR 1.7-3.7), which did not differ significantly across topics (P=.409). Anti-choice sites were less trustworthy (median score 1.3, IQR 1.0-1.7) than neutral (median score 3.3, IQR 2.7-4.0) and pro-choice (median score 3.7, IQR 3.3-4.3) sites. Anti-choice sites were also more likely to have slant clarity that was “difficult to tell” (41/112, 36.6%) compared with neutral (25/181, 13.8%) or pro-choice (4/23, 17.4%; P<.001) sites. A negative search term used for the topic of safety (eg, “risks”) produced sites with lower trustworthiness scores than search terms with the word “safety” (median score 1.7 versus 3.7, respectively; P<.001). Conclusions People seeking information about the safety and potential risks of abortion are likely to encounter a substantial amount of untrustworthy and slanted/biased abortion information. Anti-choice sites are prevalent, often difficult to identify as anti-choice, and less trustworthy than neutral or pro-choice sites. Web searches may lead the public to believe abortion is riskier than it is.

scholarly journals Assessing burden, risk factors, and perceived impact of uterine fibroids on women’s lives in rural Haiti: implications for advancing a health equity agenda, a mixed methods study

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Millien ◽  
Anatole Manzi ◽  
Arlene M. Katz ◽  
Hannah Gilbert ◽  
Mary C. Smith Fawzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Uterine Fibroids ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Gynecologic Surgery ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Women's Lives

Abstract Background Uterine fibroids, the most common cause of gynecologic surgery, have a reported cumulative incidence of 59% among Black women in the U.S. Uterine fibroids negatively impact the quality of women’s lives. No study has been found in the literature about fibroids in Haiti. We conducted a mixed methods study to assess the burden and risk factors of uterine fibroids, as well as their effects on women’s quality of life. Methods A convergent mixed methods study was conducted between October 1, 2019 and January 31, 2020 at MUH’s (Mirebalais University Hospital) OB-GYN outpatient department. Quantitatively, in a cross-sectional study 211 women completed consecutively a structured questionnaire. In-depth interviews with 17 women with fibroids and 7 family members were implemented for the qualitative component. Descriptive statistics were calculated for clinical and social demographic variables. Logistic regression was performed to examine associations between fibroids and related risk factors. An inductive thematic process was used to analyze the qualitative data. A joint display technique was used to integrate the results. Results Of 193 women analyzed 116 had fibroids (60.1%). The mean age was 41.3. Anemia was the most frequent complication— 61 (52.6%). Compared to women without uterine fibroids, factors associated with uterine fibroids included income decline (AOR = 4.7, 95% CI: 2.1–10.9, p = < 0.001), excessive expenses for transport (AOR = 4.4, 95% CI: 1.6–12.4, p = 0.005), and family history with uterine fibroids (AOR = 4.6, 95% CI: 1.6–13.6, p = 0.005). In contrast, higher level of education and micro polycystic ovarian syndrome were associated with lower prevalence (AOR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1–0.9, p = 0.021) and (AOR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1–0.97, p = 0.044), respectively. The qualitative findings delineate how contextual factors such as health system failures, long wait times, gender inequality and poverty negatively affect the quality of women’s lives. The poverty cycle of uterine fibroids emerged. Conclusions A vicious cycle of poverty negatively impacts access to care for uterine fibroids in Haiti. Health insurance, social support, and income generating activities may be keys to promote social justice through access to adequate care for women with uterine fibroids in Haiti.

A survey of YouTube videos as a source of useful/un-useful information in the field of the prevention and management of burn injuries: A cross-sectional analysis of the English language content

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayhan Gurbuz ◽  
Mete Demir ◽  
Koray Das
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Burn Injury ◽  
Significant Loss ◽  
Burn Injuries ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Global Quality ◽  
Content Ratio ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Youtube Videos

Abstract The study was designed on whether YouTube videos are useful as an information resource in the field of burn injury prevention and management. Current literature on the educational content and quality of burn-related first aid videos on YouTube was reported as inadequate and inaccurate. However, the quality of YouTube videos on various medical and clinical topics has been the subject of many previous studies, and there has been increasing evidence that the content ratio of usefulness was higher than that of non-useful. While hours and even minutes in burn injuries are as precious as gold in terms of outcomes, it would be a significant loss not to use the most popular and easily accessible free social media platform of our time as a tool that can contribute to the prevention of burns and raise awareness. Analysis was conducted with the remaining 96 videos from 240 videos obtained from YouTube, according to possible search terms and exclusion of videos according to predetermined criteria. The Global Quality Score (GQS) and modified DISCERN (m.DISCERN) tools were used to assess the quality and reliability of the videos. Viewer engagement metrics and video properties were also investigated according to the usefulness criteria (e.g., video length, duration on YouTube, topic contents, source uploads, reliability, and quality). Finally, it was revealed that nearly 80 percent of the YouTube videos contained information in the field of the prevention and management of burn injuries deemed useful in this study, comparable to the other medical disciplines' reports in the literature.

scholarly journals Effect of Social Networking Sites on the Quality of Life of College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from a City in North India

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Neeru Saini ◽  
Garima Sangwan ◽  
Madhur Verma ◽  
Adarsh Kohli ◽  
Manmeet Kaur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
North India ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Severe Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
College Going

Introduction. With the advent and extensive use of the Internet and smartphones, social networking has become a pervasive part of human interaction. The use of these social networking sites or the Internet affects the physical, mental, and spiritual health of the people. Hence, there is need to understand how the time spent on social networking is affecting the quality of life (QOL) as a whole, especially among college-going students who are most likely users of social networking sites (18–21 years). Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 220 college-going students (18–21 years) in Chandigarh in 2012. The data were collected using a pretested self-administered questionnaire, adapted from Young’s Internet usage questionnaire. Appropriate statistical analysis was done. Results. Almost all (98%) of the respondents use the Internet. As compared to nondaily users of social networking sites, daily users were better able to handle stress related to (1) relationships (moderate to severe stress among daily users vs. nondaily users, 15.2% vs. 30.5%) and (2) work (moderate to severe stress among daily users vs. nondaily users, 18.2% vs. 35.4%). The daily users of social networking sites feel significantly more satisfied with their classmates, the way they handle the problems, their physical appearance, and their accomplishments in their life. Conclusion. Social networking sites are steadily penetrating in the lives of adolescents in India. The advantages on quality of life for daily users of social networking sites versus nondaily users are enormous. Also currently, Internet use might not have reached the levels where it embarks on the existing state of health; therefore, continuous and critical observation of the changing trends is warranted.

DOZ047.115: Quality and readability of esophageal atresia information on the Internet

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B R O’Connor ◽  
E Doherty ◽  
F Friedmacher ◽  
L Vernon ◽  
T S Paran
Keyword(s):  
Esophageal Atresia ◽  
Oesophageal Atresia ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Flesch Reading Ease ◽  
Ease Score ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Google Search

Abstract Introduction Increasingly in pediatric surgical practice, patients, their parents, and surgeons alike use the Internet as an easily and quickly accessible source of information about conditions and their treatment. The quality and reliability of this information may often be unregulated. We aim to objectively assess the online information available relating to esophageal atresia and its management. Methods We performed searches for ‘oesophageal atresia’ and ‘esophageal atresia’ using the Google, Yahoo, and Bing engines to encompass both European and American spellings. We assessed the first 20 results of each search and excluded duplicates or unrelated pages. The DISCERN score and the Health on the Net Foundation Code (HONcode) toolbar were utilized to assess the quality of information on each website. We evaluated readability with the Flesch reading ease (FRE) and the Flesch–Kincaid grade (FKG). Results Of the original 120 hits, 61 were excluded (51 duplicates, 10 unrelated). Out of 59 individual sites reviewed, only 13 sites were HONcode approved. The mean overall DISCERN score was 52.55 (range: 22–78). The mean DISCERN score for the search term ‘oesphageal atresia’ was 57 (range: 22–78) in comparison to 59.03 for ‘esophageal atresia’ (range: 27–78). Google search had the lowest overall mean DISCERN score at 54.83 (range: 35–78), followed by Yahoo at 58.03 (range: 22–78), and Bing with the highest overall mean score of 61.2 (range: 27–78). The majority of websites were graded excellent (≥63) or good (51–62), 43% and 27%, respectively; 20% were scored as fair (39–50), with 10% being either poor (27–38) or very poor (≤26). In terms of readability, the overall Flesch Reading Ease score was 33.02, and the overall Flesch–Kincaid grade level was 10.3. Conclusions The quality of freely available online information relating to esophageal atresia is generally good but may not be accessible to everyone due to being relatively difficult to read. We should direct parents towards comprehensive, high-quality, and easily readable information sources should they wish to supplement their knowledge about esophageal atresia and its management.

scholarly journals Impact of Uterine Fibroids on Quality of Life: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. S84
Author(s):  
H. Fernandez ◽  
K. Ardaens ◽  
I. Queval ◽  
C. Solignac
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Uterine Fibroids ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional

Assessing the Educational Quality of Facebook Videos as an Informative Resource on Otitis Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 019459982093388
Author(s):  
Chase I. Kahn ◽  
Rita Wang ◽  
Kunal Shetty ◽  
Mikayla J. Huestis ◽  
Michael B. Cohen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Otitis Media ◽  
English Language ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Educational Value ◽  
Sectional Analysis

Objective This study analyzes the quality and reliability of otitis media (OM) videos on Facebook and investigates whether the videos shared within the Facebook community are considered to be a valuable educational tool. The results of this study are important for providing clinicians with the necessary understanding about the video content that their patients may be exposed to. Study Design Cross-sectional analysis of video content. Setting A new Facebook account was created to carry out a search for videos on OM. Methods Inclusion criteria were as follows: videos intended for educating patients or guardians on OM, videos in the English language, and videos with at least 1 share. Results A total of 364 videos were screened, and 62 fit our inclusion criteria for analysis. The majority (56%) of OM videos on Facebook focused on complementary and alternative medication without mentioning any current guidelines. A limited amount of videos (29%) made any mention to surgical treatment options for OM. There was a strong positive correlation (rho = 0.8419, P < .001) between a video’s content and its reliability. There was no correlation seen between a video’s content and its shares (rho = −0.142, P = .1359). Conclusions The majority of OM videos on Facebook are inadequate for educational value. Clinicians should know about the existence of videos on OM and the quality of information that parents are exposed to.

scholarly journals COVID-19 prevention and treatment information on the internet: a systematic analysis and quality assessment

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e040487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka Siu Fan ◽  
Shahi Abdul Ghani ◽  
Nikolaos Machairas ◽  
Lorenzo Lenti ◽  
Ka Hay Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
English Language ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Quality Of Information ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Prevention And Treatment

ObjectiveTo evaluate the quality of information regarding the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 available to the general public from all countries.DesignSystematic analysis using the ‘Ensuring Quality Information for Patients’ (EQIP) Tool (score 0–36), Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark (score 0–4) and the DISCERN Tool (score 16–80) to analyse websites containing information targeted at the general public.Data sourcesTwelve popular search terms, including ‘Coronavirus’, ‘COVID-19 19’, ‘Wuhan virus’, ‘How to treat coronavirus’ and ‘COVID-19 19 Prevention’ were identified by ‘Google AdWords’ and ‘Google Trends’. Unique links from the first 10 pages for each search term were identified and evaluated on its quality of information.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesAll websites written in the English language, and provides information on prevention or treatment of COVID-19 intended for the general public were considered eligible. Any websites intended for professionals, or specific isolated populations, such as students from one particular school, were excluded, as well as websites with only video content, marketing content, daily caseload update or news dashboard pages with no health information.ResultsOf the 1275 identified websites, 321 (25%) were eligible for analysis. The overall EQIP, JAMA and DISCERN scores were 17.8, 2.7 and 38.0, respectively. Websites originated from 34 countries, with the majority from the USA (55%). News Services (50%) and Government/Health Departments (27%) were the most common sources of information and their information quality varied significantly. Majority of websites discuss prevention alone despite popular search trends of COVID-19 treatment. Websites discussing both prevention and treatment (n=73, 23%) score significantly higher across all tools (p<0.001).ConclusionThis comprehensive assessment of online COVID-19 information using EQIP, JAMA and DISCERN Tools indicate that most websites were inadequate. This necessitates improvements in online resources to facilitate public health measures during the pandemic.

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