Assessment of the Quality and Readability of Online Information on Thumb-Sucking Habit in Children

This study aimed to evaluate the quality and readability of online information on thumb-sucking habits among children, using the DISCERN instrument, Health on the Net (HON) seal, and Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks.

A systematic search was conducted on Google, Yahoo, and Bing for "thumb-sucking habit". A total of 450 websites were screened; irrelevant content, duplicates, and heavily commercial or video-only sites were excluded, resulting in 143 sites. The DISCERN tool, with 16 questions rated from 1 to 5, assessed information quality, while the HON seal verification checked for HON compliance. JAMA benchmarks evaluated authorship, attribution, disclosure, and currency, and readability was assessed using Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, and SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook).

The DISCERN mean score value was 2.73 (±0.57) out of 5, indicating moderate quality. Most sites were non-profit (86.01%), followed by commercial (7.69%), and university/medical centres (6.29%). DISCERN highlighted strengths in relevance and balance but weaknesses in source citations and references. Only 12 sites displayed a HON seal. Readability varied: university/medical centres scored the highest, whereas commercial websites, despite showing relatively higher DISCERN scores, had lower readability, making the information less accessible to the general public.

This study revealed that online information on thumb sucking is of moderate quality, with notable differences across website types. Clinicians should guide patients toward non-profit and HON-certified sites for more reliable resources. Enhancing transparency, citation practices, and readability remains essential to support informed health decisions regarding thumb-sucking habits.