Does the Quality, Accuracy, and Readability of Information about Lateral Epicondylitis on the Internet Vary with the Search Term Used?

Background Concern exists over the quality, accuracy, and accessibility of online information about health care conditions. The goal of this study is to evaluate the quality, accuracy, and readability of information available on the internet about lateral epicondylitis. Methods We used three differe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hand (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2012-12, Vol.7 (4), p.420-425
Main Authors: Dy, Christopher J., Taylor, Samuel A., Patel, Ronak M., McCarthy, Moira M., Roberts, Timothy R., Daluiski, Aaron
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Orthopedics
Plastic Surgery
Surgery
Surgery Articles
Surgical Orthopedics
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Summary:Background Concern exists over the quality, accuracy, and accessibility of online information about health care conditions. The goal of this study is to evaluate the quality, accuracy, and readability of information available on the internet about lateral epicondylitis. Methods We used three different search terms (“tennis elbow,”“lateral epicondylitis,” and “elbow pain”) in three search engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo) to generate a list of 75 unique websites. Three orthopedic surgeons reviewed the content of each website and assessed the quality and accuracy of information. We assessed each website's readability using the Flesch-Kincaid method. Statistical comparisons were made using ANOVA with post hoc pairwise comparisons. Results The mean reading grade level was 11.1. None of the sites were under the recommended sixth grade reading level for the general public. Higher quality information was found when using the terms “tennis elbow” and “lateral epicondylitis” compared to “elbow pain” (p
ISSN:1558-9447
1558-9455
DOI:10.1007/s11552-012-9443-z