An Analysis of the Accuracy, Quality, and Readability of Online Health Information for Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder...

To assess the accuracy, quality, and readability of online health information for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS).

Two search engines, Google and Bing, were queried using the search terms "interstitial cystitis treatment" and "bladder pain syndrome treatment." The first 20 websites from each search were recorded. Duplicate websites between searches were removed and a pre-determined set of inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to screen websites. Two Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery fellowship-trained Urologists assessed the accuracy of websites on a 1-5 Likert scale. The quality of websites was assessed using the DISCERN tool. The readability of websites was assessed using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease (FKRE), Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level (FKRL), and SMOG indexes.

After screening, 25 individual websites were included for assessment. The accuracy of websites was high, with a median accuracy rating of 4 (accuracy of 75%-99%). The quality of the websites was fair, with a median score of 42 (scale: 1-75). The readability of websites was poor, with a median FKRE of 45.8 (scale: 1-100), median FKRL of 10.6, indicating a 10th-grade reading level, and SMOG of 13, indicating a college reading level.

Accuracy and quality of the top searched IC/BPS websites are adequate, but readability is poor. Further efforts should ensure that online health information is formatted at a reading level of 6th grade or below.