ArticlePatient education and counseling2020
Quality of online information for the general public on COVID-19.
Article in Patient education and counseling, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Quality of web-based information about the coronavirus disease 2019: a rapid systematic review of infodemiology studies published during the first year of the pandemic.BMC public health · 2022Pooled it
- American, British, and Italian Online Information on the Health Risks Associated With Eating Meat: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Health Literacy and Usability of Public Health Websites for COVID-19 Vaccine Search.Health literacy research and practice · 2026Article
- The good, the bad, and the ugly: A qualitative evaluation of web-based COVID-19 vaccine communication in Canada.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Article
- Assessing the Readability, Quality, and Reliability of Online Patient Information Materials Related to Sarcopenia.Cureus · 2025Article
- Misinformation does not reduce trust in accurate search results, but warning banners may backfire.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Evaluating the Credibility and Reliability of Online Information on Cannabidiol (CBD) for Epilepsy Treatment in Poland.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- IVC filter - assessing the readability and quality of patient information on the Internet.Journal of vascular surgery. Venous and lymphatic disorders · 2024Review
- The predation relationship between online medical search and online medical consultation-empirical research based on Baidu platform data.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- An Evaluation of the Quality of COVID-19 Internet Resources for Cancer Patients.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2023Article
- Viral Disease Goes Viral: Characterizing How Cancer Patients Use Internet Resources for COVID-19 Information.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2023Article
- Electronic health literacy among older adults in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study.Journal of nursing management · 2022Article
- How Official Social Media Affected the Infodemic among Adults during the First Wave of COVID-19 in China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Readability, understandability and language accessibility of Swedish websites about the coronavirus disease 2019: a cross-sectional study.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2022Article
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- We shall endure: Exploring the impact of government information quality and partisanship on citizens' well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.Government information quarterly · 2022Article
- Hematologic manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 in children: Case-series report and a review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Article
- Readability assessment of patient educational materials for shoulder arthroplasty from top academic orthopedic institutions.JSES international · 2022Article
- Appraising and Handling COVID-19 Information: A Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo analyse the quality of information included in websites aimed at the public on COVID-19.
methodsYahoo!, Google and Bing search engines were browsed using selected keywords on COVID-19. The first 100 websites from each search engine for each keyword were evaluated. Validated tools were used to assess readability [Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES)], usability and reliability (LIDA tool) and quality (DISCERN instrument). Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analyses.
resultsEighty-four eligible sites were analysed. The median FRES score was 54.2 (range: 23.2-73.5). The median LIDA usability and reliability scores were 46 (range: 18-54) and 37(range:14-51), respectively. A low (<50 %) overall LIDA score was recorded for 30.9 % (n = 26) of the websites. The median DISCERN score was 49.5 (range: 21-77). The DISCERN score of ≤50 % was found in 45 (53.6 %) websites. The DISCERN score was significantly associated with LIDA usability and reliability scores (p < 0.001) and the FRES score (p = 0.024).
conclusionThe majority of websites on COVID-19 for the public had moderate to low scores with regards to readability, usability, reliability and quality. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Prompt strategies should be implemented to standardize online health information on COVID-19 during this pandemic to ensure the general public has access to good quality reliable information.
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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.