Factors Associated With The Quality, Readability, And Tone Of Online Information About Peripheral Artery Disease
Praveen Satarasinghe, MD, MBA, Ammar Humayun, MD, Sai Sajja, MD, JohnPaul Chizea, MD, Mark Kahn, MD
OBJECTIVESThis study tested the hypothesis that there are no factors independently associated with peripheral artery disease online information quality. This study also assessed factors associated with dominant tones and the use of stigmatizing language in website text.
METHODSWeb searches were completed on each of the three most popular search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) using the search phrase “Peripheral Artery Disease”. The first 60 search results on each browser were considered for analysis. 113 sources met our inclusion criteria and were analyzed for (1) quality using the DISCERN tool (2) use of stigmatizing language in text (3) readability using the Flesh Reading Ease Score and Kinkaid Grade Level and (4) dominant tones of text using the IBM Watson Tone Analyzer. Three regression models were created to assess factors independently associated with quality, stigmatizing language, and very likely present dominant tones of website content.
RESULTSMost websites exceeded the recommended readability level of 6th grade and had poor quality of treatment information content. Analysis of tone indicates website preference for, almost exclusively, four specific tones regardless of the search engine utilized: sadness, analytical, tentative, and fear. There was significant presence of online stigma about Peripheral Artery Disease.
CONCLUSIONS• Online information on Peripheral Artery Disease is difficult to read, biased by profit status and HealthOnNet (HON) code, and contains a significant level of stigmatizing language.• Consideration and elimination of stigmatizing language from online sources about Peripheral Artery Disease, and other related medical conditions, can improve accuracy of information, perception of disease, and seeking of treatment.• Further analysis of quality and content of online text regarding Peripheral Artery Disease and other related medical conditions, can improve the access of information to patients.
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