title: What might parents read: Sorting webs of online information on vascular anomalies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The internet is increasingly a source of healthcare information utilized by parents, especially in rarer pathologies such as vascular malformations. The quality, validity and thoroughness of these websites is variable and unregulated. The goal of this study was to evaluate the quality and understandability of websites related to vascular malformations.
  
  
  METHODS
  The terms "hemangioma", "vascular malformation", and "vascular anomalies" were searched in Google. The first 30 websites meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were evaluated. Quality and readability were assessed using the DISCERN criteria and the Flesh-Kincaid Reading Grade Level (FKGL), respectively. Date of last update, HONcode accreditation, and the website category were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most websites were owned by academic institutions (n = 19, 63.3%). The mean DISCERN score for all websites was 2.97, or a partially valid source of information on a 1-5 scale. The average reading level estimated by FKGL was grade 12; only one website was scored at less than a grade 9 level. Two websites were HONcode accredited. Of the 18 sites giving an explicit date of last update, 12 (67.7%) had been updated in the previous 12 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Websites relating information about vascular anomalies may not be understandable to the general public, including parents. Health care providers should be cognizant of the quality and availability of such information as it may impact parent perspectives and bias toward treatment options.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Division of Otolaryngology, 4401 Penn Avenue, Faculty Pavilion, 7th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA. Electronic address: davisks@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Kara S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Paul C. Gaffney Diagnostic Referral Service, Medical Director of Vascular Anomalies Center, 4401 Penn Ave, Floor 3 Faculty Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Division of Otolaryngology, 4401 Penn Avenue, Faculty Pavilion, 7th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jabbour
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057220:Health Literacy; D006391:Hemangioma; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D010290:Parents; D011932:Reading; D057386:Search Engine; D054079:Vascular Malformations
keywords: Hemangioma; Internet; Patient information; Vascular anomaly; Vascular malformation; Website