Evaluating the Information Content, Readability, Reliability and Quality of Turkish Websites on Osteoporosis

Objective:To investigate the information content, readability, reliability, and quality level of websites that provide online information in Turkish about osteoporosis (OP). Materials and Methods:In September 2022, the words "osteoporosis, bone melt" were scanned on Google search and the first 20 websites were investigated. The websites were divided into three groups according to the creator: Group 1= hospitals, associations, and official institutions; group 2= health professionals; and group 3= others. The readability level was evaluated according to the Atesman and Bezirci-Yilmaz formula; the reliability and quality were evaluated according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) score, the Quality Criteria for Consumer Health Information (DISCERN) scale, the Global Quality scale (GQS), and the Physician Global Quality assessment (PGQA). The information content was analyzed with reference to the subject headings in the patient information texts on the official website of the Turkish Osteoporosis Association. Results:One hundred sixty websites were included in the study; 62 were in group 1, 58 were in group 2, and 40 were in group 3. The median of the Atesman value is 48,2, which is difficult to read; the Bezirci-Yilmaz value was a median of 12,6. The JAMA score was 1,0 and almost all (98,7%) websites were found to be low reliable. Only 10 of the websites had complete information content. The DISCERN score was of poor quality, with a median of 29. It was also found to be of insufficient quality for PGQA and GQS. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of readability, reliability, and quality criteria. Conclusion:Current findings show that Turkish websites are far from providing sufficient and quality information on osteoporosis. Considering the importance of patient education in the management of OP treatment, the results obtained are quite inadequate. Physicians and patients should be aware of this situation; relevant institutions should develop the necessary health policies to solve the problem.