Assessment of the quality of health information on the Internet: evidence-based accuracy indicators for tuberculosis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Not long ago, someone had to buy a newspaper, a book, or a magazine or go to a library to obtain information. Today, the Internet quickly facilitates a myriad of information. However, the information provided may be obsolete, incomplete, incorrect, or deliberately false: fake news. In the health field, this information can affect well-being or harm individuals and society. Thus, professionals, researchers, and institutions have assessed the quality of information on health websites to address this issue. Evaluations often verify the accuracy of the information provided. However, the information accuracy indicators have yet to be constructed from Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). This article aims to build indicators from EBM practices, analyzing the case of tuberculosis. This manuscript proposes 43 information accuracy indicators that evaluated the tuberculosis information available on the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The results indicate that much information needs to be included, and some data must be corrected. This evaluation reiterates the importance of building EBM accuracy indicators. This work intends to encourage new studies about assessing the quality of health information on the Internet.