Kyphosis-Related Information On The Internet Is the Quality, Content and Readability Sufficient for the Patients?

Study Design: A quality-control Internet-based study using recognized quality scoring systems.

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the quality, content and readability of online information on kyphosis.

Methods: The 3 most frequently used search engines were identified and a search for "Kyphosis" was made in each. The 2 reviewers categorized their Web-sites by type, and the quality of each was assessed using well-known scoring systems, including the DISCERN score, JAMA benchmark, GQS, and the kyphosis specific content score. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL) was used to assess the readability. The quality of the information was also evaluated according to the presence and absence of the HONcode.

Results: Sixty unique Web sites were identified and analyzed. The distribution of the categories was 33 (55%) medical, 22 (36.7%) academic, 2 (3.3%) non-physician, 2 (3.3%) commercial and 1 (1.7%) physician. There wasn't statistically significant difference between the sources in terms of DISCERN, JAMA, GQS and KSC scores ( > 0.05). However, a review of the FKGL scores revealed that the academic-based websites' FKGL score was significantly higher than the medical-based websites (: 0.007). Also there wasn't statistically significant difference among the DISCERN, JAMA, GQS, KSC, FKRS and FKGL scores of the web-sites according to the HON code's presence ( > 0.05).

Conclusion: Information about kyphosis on the Internet is of limited quality and low information value. The readability of the online information in our results showed a significantly higher reading level than the sixth grade level recommended by the AMA and NIH.