Commonly cited website quality criteria are not effective at identifying inaccurate online information about breast cancer.
BACKGROUND
Consumers increasingly consult the Internet for breast cancer information. Concerned about accuracy, multiple organizations developed quality criteria for online content. However, the effectiveness of these tools is unknown. The authors determined whether existing quality criteria can identify inaccurate breast cancer information online.


METHODS
The authors identified 343 unique webpages by using 15 breast cancer-related queries on 5 popular web search-engines. Each page was assessed for 15 quality criteria and 3 website characteristics, link type (sponsored or not), search engine used to find the page, and domain extension. Two clinician-reviewers independently assessed accuracy and topics covered. The authors then determined whether quality criteria, website characteristics, and topics were associated with the presence of inaccurate statements.


RESULTS
The authors found 41 inaccurate statements on 18 webpages (5.2%). No quality criteria or website characteristic, singly or in combination, reliably identified inaccurate information. The total number of quality criteria met by a website accounted for a small fraction of the variability in the presence of inaccuracies (point biserial r=-0.128; df=341; P=.018; r2=0.016). However, webpages containing information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) were significantly more likely to contain inaccuracies compared with pages without CAM information (odds ratio [OR], 15.6; P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Most breast cancer information that consumers are likely to encounter online is accurate. However, commonly cited quality criteria do not identify inaccurate information. Webpages that contain information about CAM are relatively likely to contain inaccurate statements. Consumers searching for health information online should still consult a clinician before taking action.
Bernstam
Elmer V
EV
School of Health Information Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Walji
Muhammad F
MF
Sagaram
Smitha
S
Sagaram
Deepak
D
Johnson
Craig W
CW
Meric-Bernstam
Funda
F
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007255:Information Services / Q000592:standards*; D020407:Internet / Q000592:standards*; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards*