title: [An evaluation of web-based information about Barrett's esophagus in Korea].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Internet has become an important source of medical information not only for doctors but also patients. However, information available in the Internet may provide wrong or even harmful knowledge to the public. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of Internet-based medical information about Barrett's esophagus in Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  The first 50 Internet links were retrieved from the Google using the key word Barrett's esophagus. The quality of information from a total of 49 websites was evaluated using a checklist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among total 49 sites related to Barrett's esophagus, only 4 sites (8.2%) were made by hospitals or clinics, and 11 sites (22.4%) were for patients. Of the 49 sites, only one web site (2.0%) had all HON CODE principles (authority, complementarity, confidentiality, attribution, justifiability, transparency of authorship, transparency of sponsorship, honesty in advertising and editorial policy). Sixteen Internet links (32.0%) had fair contents for the definition, and 24 links (48.0%) for the diagnosis, and 15 links (30.0%) for the treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Information about Barrett's esophagus was incomplete in the majority of medical web sites. It will bring about confusion in patients who want to get information about Barrett's esophagus from the Internet. There is a need for better evidence-based information about Barrett's esophagus on the web.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jun Haeng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kap Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ki Joo
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Sang Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Poong-Lyul
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Jae J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong Chul
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rhee
mesh_terms: D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D020407:Internet; D007723:Korea; D008490:Medical Informatics; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014584:User-Computer Interface