Quality of Breast Cancer Sites on the World Wide Web (original) (raw)

Abstract

The Internet is a powerful tool for accessing information about complex health topics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate breast cancer Internet sites using published criteria about website structure. Two searches were undertaken (November 1998 and June 1999) using the Yahoo search engine, providing a sample of 136 unique addresses. The results showed 1) owner’s credentials were identified in 31.6% of sites, 2) financial charges were stated in 10.3% of sites, 3) less than 14.0% identified site creation date, 4) 33.1% identified content posting update, 5) 30.1% identified information sources, and 6) just under 88% of sites provided e-mail interactivity. The results indicate variability in breast cancer Internet sites with respect to framework criteria of accountability. We suggest that websites that lack fundamental indicators (such as dating and sources) do not provide the user with fundamental information that could enable informed decision making about site quality.

Résumé

Internet est un outil puissant permettant d’accéder à des informations relatives à des sujets médicaux complexes. L’objectif de cette étude est d’évaluer les sites Internet liés au cancer du sein à l’aide des critères publiés en matière de structure des sites Web. Deux études ont été entreprises (novembre 1998 et juin 1999) à l’aide du moteur de recherche Yahoo, qui ont donné lieu à un échantillon de 136 adresses différentes. Les résultats ont démontré ce qui suit: 1) les qualifications du propriétaire étaient précisées dans 31,6 % des cas, 2) les frais étaient indiqués dans 10,3 % des sites, 3) moins de 14,0 % des sites indiquaient la date de création, 4) 33,1 % des sites indiquaient que de nouvelles informations avaient été affichées dans le cadre de mises à jour, 5) 30,1 % désignaient leurs sources de renseignements, et 6) près de 88 % des sites faisaient preuve d’une certaine interactivité au moyen du courriel. Les résultats révèlent une certaine variabilité dans les sites Web consacrés au cancer du sein du point de vue des critères fondamentaux de responsabilité. Nous suggérons que les sites Web qui ne disposent pas de certaines indications fondamentales (comme la date et les sources) ne fournissent pas d’informations fondamentales dont l’utilisateur pourrait se servir pour prendre une décision éclairée au sujet de la qualité du site.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada
    Laurie Hoffman-Goetz PhD, MPH
  2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada
    Juanne Nancarrow Clarke PhD

Authors

  1. Laurie Hoffman-Goetz PhD, MPH
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  2. Juanne Nancarrow Clarke PhD
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Correspondence to Laurie Hoffman-Goetz PhD, MPH.

Additional information

The work was funded by a grant from the Policy Research Secretariat of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

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Hoffman-Goetz, L., Clarke, J.N. Quality of Breast Cancer Sites on the World Wide Web.Can J Public Health 91, 281–284 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404290

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