Quality and readability of online information about piriformis syndrome

In this study, we aimed to investigate the quality and readability of websites related to Piriformis Syndrome(PS).

On November 14, 2023, we searched the term "Piriformis Syndrome" in Google (https://www.google.com). We evaluated the top 200 uniform resource locators(URLs) in query results for typology, Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA) scores, the Flesch-Kincaid reading ease(FRE) score, Flesch-Kincaid grade(FKG) level, Gunning-Fog index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook(SMOG) grade level. The JAMA scoring system was used to assess quality, and FRE, FKG, Gunning-Fog index and SMOG scores were used to assess the readability of online information. Content analysis was performed for etiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Treatment options were evaluated as exercise, physical therapy agents, drug therapy, invasive treatments, and surgery.

Of the 138 websites evaluated, 39 were classified as high-quality websites. Scientific publications and health portal websites were found to have high-quality scores. When the readability parameters of the websites were compared in terms of quality, there was no significant difference between high-quality websites and low-quality websites in terms of FRE and FKG scores(p > 0.05), but there was a significant difference in Gunning-Fog index and SMOG scores(p = 0.030, p = 0.010 respectively). The quality score of the top 10 websites was higher than the rest(p = 0.002). When the contents of the websites were analyzed, there was a significant difference only in terms of diagnosis. Scientific websites mentioned diagnosis the most, while commercial websites mentioned it the least. When the treatment content was analyzed, there was a significant difference in terms of surgery. Non-profit websites mentioned it the most, while commercial websites mentioned it the least.

High-quality websites were slightly more difficult in the readability parameters. However, the proportion of high-quality websites was quite low. These results may encourage those producing PS-related online information to improve the quality and readability of content and content coverage.