Foot and Ankle Fellowship Websites: An Assessment of Accessibility and Quality.
BACKGROUND
The Internet has been reported to be the first informational resource for many fellowship applicants. The objective of this study was to assess the accessibility of orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship websites and to evaluate the quality of information provided via program websites.


METHODS
The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) and the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) fellowship databases were accessed to generate a comprehensive list of orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship programs. The databases were reviewed for links to fellowship program websites and compared with program websites accessed from a Google search. Accessible fellowship websites were then analyzed for the quality of recruitment and educational content pertinent to fellowship applicants.


RESULTS
Forty-seven orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship programs were identified. The AOFAS database featured direct links to 7 (15%) fellowship websites with the independent Google search yielding direct links to 29 (62%) websites. No direct website links were provided in the FREIDA database. Thirty-six accessible websites were analyzed for content. Program websites featured a mean 44% (range = 5% to 75%) of the total assessed content. The most commonly presented recruitment and educational content was a program description (94%) and description of fellow operative experience (83%), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
There is substantial variability in the accessibility and quality of orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship websites.


CONCLUSIONS
Recognition of deficits in accessibility and content quality may assist foot and ankle fellowships in improving program information online.


METHODS
Level IV.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY.
Richard M
RM
Hinds
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY.
Natalie R
NR
Danna
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY.
John T
JT
Capo
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY.
Kenneth J
KJ
Mroczek
D000842:Ankle; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D005528:Foot; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States
Internet; ankle; fellowship; online; quality; website