Urologists in cyberspace. A review of the quality of health information from American urologists’ websites using three validated tools

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate a sample of urologists’ websites, based in the United States of America (USA), using three validated instruments: the Health on the Net Foundation code of conduct (HONcode), DISCERN and LIDA tools.To discuss how medical websites can be improved.   Materials and Methods: The 10 most populous cities in America , identified from the US Census Bureau, were searched using www.google.com to identify the first ten websites using the terms “urologist + city”. Each website was scored using the HONcode, DISCERN and LIDA instruments.The median score for each tool was used to dichotomize the cohort and multivariable logistic regression used to identify independent predictors of higher scores.   Results Of the 100 websites found, 78 were analysed. There were 18 academic institutions, 43 group and 17 solo practices. A medical website design service had been used by 18 websites. The HONcode badge was seen on 3 websites (4%).  Social media was used by 16 websites.Multivariable logistic regression showed predictors of higher scores for each tool were: HONcode - academic centers (OR 6.8, CI 1.2-37.3, p=0.028) and use of medical website design service (OR 17.2, CI 3.8-78.1, p=0.001);DISCERN - academic centres (OR 23.13, p=0.002, CI 3.15-169.9 and group practices (OR 7.19, p=0.022, CI 1.33-38.93). LIDA tool - there were no predictors of higher scores. Pearson correlation did not show any correlation between the three scores   Conclusions   Using 3 validated tools for appraising online health information, we found a wide variation in quality of urologists’ websites in America. Increased awareness of standards and available resources, coupled with guidance from health professional regulatory bodies, would improve the quality health information on medical websites.