Quality of Internet information related to the Mediterranean diet

Bibliographic Data

ID15092887
AuthorsReiko Hirasawa (University of Tsukuba), Kazumi Saito (0000-0002-8972-5002, University of Tsukuba), Yoko Yachi (0000-0002-1465-3243, University of Tsukuba), Yoko Ibe (University of Tsukuba), Satoru Kodama (0000-0002-9521-7274, University of Tsukuba), Mihoko Asumi (University of Tsukuba), Chika Horikawa (0000-0003-4213-0252, University of Tsukuba), Aki Saito (0000-0001-5632-167X, University of Tsukuba), Yoriko Heianza (0000-0002-0957-9309, University of Tsukuba), Kazuo Kondo (0000-0002-6525-4824, Ochanomizu University), Hitoshi Shimano (0000-0002-5562-5572, University of Tsukuba), Hirohito Sone (0000-0003-1263-2817, University of Tsukuba, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume15
Issue5
Pages885-893
Publication date2012-05-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Health Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1368-9800 • E-ISSN: 1475-2727
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1368980011002345
PMID21923978
OpenAlexW2143727491
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited34

Objective The present study aimed to evaluate the quality of Internet information on the Mediterranean diet and to determine the relationship between the quality of information and the website source. Design Website sources were categorized as institutional, pharmaceutical, non-pharmaceutical commercial, charitable, support and alternative medicine. Content quality was evaluated using the DISCERN rating instrument, the Health On the Net Foundation's (HON) code principles, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks. Readability was graded by the Flesch Reading Ease score and Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level score. Setting The phrase ‘Mediterranean diet’ was entered as a search term into the six most commonly used English-language search engines. Subjects The first thirty websites forthcoming by each engine were examined. Results Of the 180 websites identified, thirty-two met our inclusion criteria. Distribution of the website sources was: institutional, n 8 (25 %); non-pharmaceutical commercial, n 12 (38 %); and support, n 12 (38 %). As evaluated by the DISCERN, thirty-one of the thirty-two websites were rated as fair to very poor. Non-pharmaceutical commercial sites scored significantly lower than institutional and support sites ( P = 0·002). The mean Flesch Reading Ease score and mean Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level were 55·9 (fairly difficult) and 7·2, respectively. The Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level score determines the difficulty of material by measuring the length of words and sentences and converting the results into a grade level ranging from 0 to 12 (US grade level). Conclusions Due to the poor quality of website information on the Mediterranean diet, patients or consumers who are interested in the Mediterranean diet should get advice from physicians or dietitians

Family medicine · Inclusion (mineral · Information quality · Information system · Medical information · Political science · Quality (philosophy · Readability · Reading (process · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Engineering · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Medicine · Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access