title: The quality of snoring treatment information on the internet.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of information available on the World Wide Web regarding the treatment of snoring. The main data source was from internet searches using the three most popular search engines using the keywords "snoring treatment". First page websites were evaluated using the DISCERN instrument (assessing reliability and information given about treatment choices). Of the 135 websites identified, 16 unique websites were evaluated in the study (the remaining being adverts or repetitions). The websites had an average overall score of 2.37 out of 5 (range 1.19-4) and 37.5 % of the websites evaluated scored less than 2 out of 5 overall, suggesting very poor quality information. Highly ranked websites on popular search engines may not contain the most reliable information. Overall the information on the internet regarding the treatment of snoring is poor and patients should be encouraged to discuss their findings with a medical professional.
authors: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, James Cook University Hospital, Marton Road, Middlesbrough, TS4 3BW, UK.
authors: Vik
authors: V
authors: Veer
authors: Glen
authors: G
authors: Alder
authors: Umesh
authors: U
authors: Ullal
mesh_terms: D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057386:Search Engine; D012913:Snoring / Q000628:therapy*