TY - JOUR
T1 - Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
T2 - Analyzing Internet-based Education Material
AU - Bryant, Jessica
AU - Mohan, Rohith
AU - Koottappillil, Brian
AU - Wong, Kevin
AU - Yi, Paul H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the content of information available on the Internet regarding minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). Summary of Background Data: Patients look to the Internet for quick and accessible information on orthopedic procedures to help guide their personal decision making process regarding the care they receive. However, the quality of internet-based orthopedic education material varies significantly with respect to accuracy and readability. Materials and Methods: The top 50 results were generated from each of 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo!, and Bing) using the search term "minimally invasive spine surgery." Results were categorized by authorship type and evaluated for their description of key factors such as procedural benefits, risks, and techniques. Comparisons between search engines and between authorship types were done using the Freeman-Halton extension for the Fisher exact test. The content of websites certified by Health on the Net Foundation (HONcode) was compared with those not HONcode certified. Results: Of the 150 websites and videos, only 26% were authored by a hospital or university, whereas 50% were by a private physician or clinic. Most resources presented some benefits of MISS (84%, 126/150), but only 17% presented risks of the procedure (26/150). Almost half of all resources described the technique of MISS, but only 27% had thorough descriptions that included visual representations while 26% failed to describe the procedure. Only 12 results were HONcode certified, and 10 (83%) of these were authored by a medical industry company. Conclusions: Internet-based resources on MISS provide inconsistent content and tend to emphasize benefits of MISS over risks.
AB - Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the content of information available on the Internet regarding minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). Summary of Background Data: Patients look to the Internet for quick and accessible information on orthopedic procedures to help guide their personal decision making process regarding the care they receive. However, the quality of internet-based orthopedic education material varies significantly with respect to accuracy and readability. Materials and Methods: The top 50 results were generated from each of 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo!, and Bing) using the search term "minimally invasive spine surgery." Results were categorized by authorship type and evaluated for their description of key factors such as procedural benefits, risks, and techniques. Comparisons between search engines and between authorship types were done using the Freeman-Halton extension for the Fisher exact test. The content of websites certified by Health on the Net Foundation (HONcode) was compared with those not HONcode certified. Results: Of the 150 websites and videos, only 26% were authored by a hospital or university, whereas 50% were by a private physician or clinic. Most resources presented some benefits of MISS (84%, 126/150), but only 17% presented risks of the procedure (26/150). Almost half of all resources described the technique of MISS, but only 27% had thorough descriptions that included visual representations while 26% failed to describe the procedure. Only 12 results were HONcode certified, and 10 (83%) of these were authored by a medical industry company. Conclusions: Internet-based resources on MISS provide inconsistent content and tend to emphasize benefits of MISS over risks.
KW - HONcode
KW - Internet
KW - MISS
KW - content
KW - minimally invasive spine surgery
KW - online
KW - patient education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045050713&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85045050713&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/BSD.0000000000000602
DO - 10.1097/BSD.0000000000000602
M3 - Article
C2 - 29315116
AN - SCOPUS:85045050713
SN - 2380-0186
VL - 31
SP - E166-E170
JO - Clinical Spine Surgery
JF - Clinical Spine Surgery
IS - 3
ER -