ArticleInteractive journal of medical research2015
Medical information on the internet: a tool for measuring consumer perception of quality aspects.
Article in Interactive journal of medical research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Trust and Credibility in Web-Based Health Information: A Review and Agenda for Future Research.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Pooled it
- Adolescents' perceptions of the credibility of informational content on fitness and dietary supplements: The impact of banner and native advertising.Journal of adolescence · 2024Trial
- Evaluation of the measurement properties of online health information quality assessment tools: A systematic review.International journal of nursing sciences · 2025Review
- Understanding the preference of online health information seeking among college students using the best-worst scaling method.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Enhancing patient informed consent in elective skin cancer surgeries: a comparative study of traditional and digital approaches in a German public hospital.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Online Health Information Seeking: An Italian Case Study for Analyzing Citizens' Behavior and Perception.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Using Telemedicine during the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Service Quality Affects Patients' Consultation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Social Media for ImpLementing Evidence (SMILE): Conceptual Framework.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Caught in the net: Characterizing how testicular cancer patients use the internet as an information source.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2021Article
- Comparison of information provided by pediatricians regarding tooth eruption and the information available on the internet.Dental research journal · 2021Article
- Information in Spanish on the Internet about the Prevention of COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- A fountain of knowledge? The quality of online resources for testicular cancer patients.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2020Article
- Communication on drug safety-related matters to patients: is it even more significant in this digital era?Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2020Article
- Are Health e-Mavens the New Patient Influencers?Frontiers in psychology · 2020Review
- Testicular Cancer on the Web-an Appropriate Source of Patient Information in Concordance with the European Association of Urology Guidelines?Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2018Article
- A Tool That Assesses the Evidence, Transparency, and Usability of Online Health Information: Development and Reliability Assessment.JMIR aging · 2018Article
- Defining Information Quality Into Health Websites: A Conceptual Framework of Health Website Information Quality for Educated Young Adults.JMIR human factors · 2017Article
- eHealth Search Patterns: A Comparison of Private and Public Health Care Markets Using Online Panel Data.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Article
- Rare Diseases on the Internet: An Assessment of the Quality of Online Information.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Article
- Adopting Quality Criteria for Websites Providing Medical Information About Rare Diseases.Interactive journal of medical research · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMost of adult Internet users have searched for health information on the Internet. The Internet has become one of the most important sources for health information and treatment advice. In most cases, the information found is not verified with a medical doctor, but judged by the "online-diagnosers" independently. Facing this situation, public health authorities raise concern over the quality of medical information laypersons can find on the Internet.
objectiveThe objective of the study was aimed at developing a measure to evaluate the credibility of websites that offer medical advice and information. The measure was tested in a quasi-experimental study on two sleeping-disorder websites of different quality.
methodsThere were 45 survey items for rating the credibility of websites that were tested in a quasi-experimental study with a random assignment of 454 participants to either a high- or a low-quality website exposure. Using principal component analysis, the original items were reduced to 13 and sorted into the factors: trustworthiness, textual deficits of the content, interferences (external links on the Web site), and advertisements. The first two factors focus more on the provided content itself, while the other two describe the embedding of the content into the website. The 45 survey items had been designed previously using exploratory observations and literature research.
resultsThe final scale showed adequate power and reliability for all factors. The loadings of the principal component analysis ranged satisfactorily (.644 to .854). Significant differences at P<.001 were found between the low- and high-quality groups. Advertisements on the website were rated as disturbing in both experimental conditions, meaning that they do not differentiate between good and bad information.
conclusionsThe scale reliably distinguished high- and low-quality of medical advice given on websites.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.