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Published on: October 25, 2024
The Quality of Health Information Available on the Internet for Patients With Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Ellen R Solomon1, Kristine Janssen, Colleen M Krajewski
1From the *Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Urogynecology and Pelvic Surgery, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA; and †Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; ‡Division of Woman and Baby, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; and §Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Magee Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA; ∥Center for Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health Institute, Cleveland, OH.
Objective:
This study aimed to assess the quality of Web sites that provide information on pelvic organ prolapse using validated quality measurement tools.
Methods:
The Google search engine was used to perform a search of the following 4 terms: "pelvic organ prolapse," "dropped bladder," "cystocele," and "vaginal mesh." The DISCERN appraisal tool and JAMA benchmark criteria were used to determine the quality of health information of each Web site. Cohen κ was performed to determine interrater reliability between reviewers. Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare DISCERN scores and JAMA criteria among search terms.
Results:
Interrater reliability between the two reviewers using DISCERN was κ = 0.71 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.68-0.74] and using JAMA criteria was κ = 0.98 (95% CI, 0.74-1.0). On the basis of the DISCERN appraisal tool, the search term "vaginal mesh" had significantly lower Web site quality than "pelvic organ prolapse" and "cystocele," respectively [mean difference of DISCERN score, -14.65 (95% CI, -25.50 to 8.50, P < 0.0001) and -12.55 (95% CI, -24.00 to 7.00, P = 0.0007)]. "Dropped bladder" had significantly lower Web site quality compared to "pelvic organ prolapse" and "cystocele," respectively (mean difference of DISCERN score, -9.55 (95% CI, -20.00 to 3.00, P = 0.0098) and -7.80 (95% CI, -18.00 to 1.00, P = 0.0348). Using JAMA criteria, there were no statistically significant differences between Web sites.
Conclusions:
Web sites queried under search terms "vaginal mesh" and "dropped bladder" are lower in quality compared with the Web sites found using the search terms "pelvic organ prolapse" and "cystocele."
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