Readability, relevance and quality of the information in Spanish on the Web for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
BACKGROUND
Education is a major health determinant and one of the main independent outcome predictors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The use of the Internet by patients has grown exponentially in the last decade.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the characteristics, legibility and quality of the information available in Spanish in the Internet regarding to rheumatoid arthritis.


METHODS
The search was performed in Google using the phrase rheumatoid arthritis. Information from the first 30 pages was evaluated according to a pre-established format (relevance, scope, authorship, type of publication and financial objective). The quality and legibility of the pages were assessed using two validated tools, DISCERN and INFLESZ respectively. Data extraction was performed by senior medical students and evaluation was achieved by consensus.


RESULTS
The Google search returned 323 hits but only 63% were considered relevant; 80% of them were information sites (71% discussed exclusively RA, 44% conventional treatment and 12% alternative therapies) and 12.5% had a primary financial interest. 60% of the sites were created by nonprofit organizations and 15% by medical associations. Web sites posted by medical institutions from the United States of America were better positioned in Spanish (Arthritis Foundation 4th position and American College of Rheumatology 10th position) than web sites posted by Spanish speaking countries.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a risk of disinformation for patients with RA that use the Internet. We identified a window of opportunity for rheumatology medical institutions from Spanish-speaking countries to have a more prominent societal involvement in the education of their patients with RA.
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México. Electronic address: josedco006@hotmail.com.
Jose Dionisio
JD
Castillo-Ortiz
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Jose de Jesus
JJ
Valdivia-Nuno
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Andrea
A
Ramirez-Gomez
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Heber
H
Garagarza-Mariscal
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Carlos
C
Gallegos-Rios
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Gabriel
G
Flores-Hernandez
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Luis
L
Hernandez-Sanchez
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Victor
V
Brambila-Barba
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Jose Juan
JJ
Castaneda-Sanchez
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Zalathiel
Z
Barajas-Ochoa
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México.
Angel
A
Suarez-Rico
Vicerrectoría Académica, Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Zapopan, México.
Jorge Manuel
JM
Sanchez-Gonzalez
Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Guadalajara, México; Vicerrectoría Académica, Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Zapopan, México.
Cesar
C
Ramos-Remus
D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D032882:Comprehension; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007802:Language; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057386:Search Engine
Artritis reumatoide; Educación; Education; Internet; Rheumatoid arthritis; Web