Internet information on rheumatoid arthritis: an evaluation

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Health Informatics
• Medical Communication

Background:

• The internet is a primary source of health information for patients.
• Evaluating the quality of online rheumatoid arthritis (RA) information is crucial for patient care.
• Understanding the influence of website financial interests on information quality is important.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the quality of publicly accessible internet information on rheumatoid arthritis.
• To determine if financial interests of websites correlate with the quality of RA information provided.

Main Methods:

• Searched five major search engines using the term 'rheumatoid arthritis'.
• Evaluated the first 20 results from each search based on general and specific criteria, scoring up to 30.
• Assessed 55 websites for authorship, ownership, currency, references, financial interest, and physiotherapy information.

Main Results:

• The average quality score for evaluated rheumatoid arthritis websites was low (12.15/30), with 72.7% scoring below 50%.
• Critical information such as authorship, ownership, and currency was missing in over 75% of sites.
• Websites with financial interests (64%) had significantly lower quality scores than informative sites (p < 0.01).
• Information on physiotherapy's role in RA management was absent in 70.9% of sites.

Conclusions:

• The internet is currently an unreliable source for rheumatoid arthritis patient information.
• High-quality RA information is scarce and difficult to find online.
• Regulation and guidelines are needed for internet health information, and professionally endorsed sites should be recommended.