TABLE 1.
Characteristics of the 30 websites evaluated
| Internet website | Order in search results* | Reading level, grade | IBD information score, mean | Topics covered, n | DISCERN score† | EQIP score‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| About.com | 13 | 10.4 | 4.2 | 21 | 2.9 | 55.6 |
| BioBasics | (G8) | 10.5 | 1.4 | 5 | 2.3 | 42.3 |
| The Canadian Encyclopedia | (G14) | 12.8 | 1.3 | 8 | 1.7 | 38.5 |
| Canadian Society of Intestinal Research | (G3) | 12.6 | 2.8 | 16 | 2.7 | 55.3 |
| CedarsSinai | 11 | 10.8 | 2.2 | 16 | 1.9 | 41.7 |
| CHealth.org | (G17) | 10.2 | 2.8 | 15 | 3.5 | 75.0 |
| ChildrensHospitalBoston | 12 | 11.5 | 2.1 | 14 | 2.2 | 52.6 |
| CincinnatiChildrens | 30 | 11.4 | 1.9 | 14 | 2.2 | 60.5 |
| ClevelandClinic | 15 | 12.2 | 2.7 | 16 | 2.9 | 61.1 |
| Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America | 16 | 10.7 | 4.3 | 21 | 4.1 | 80.6 |
| DrugDigest | 19 | 12.0 | 2.3 | 14 | 3.7 | 73.7 |
| eMedicine | (G25) | 13.5 | 2.5 | 16 | 3.3 | 52.6 |
| eMedicineHealth | 3 (G21) | 12.5 | 2.3 | 14 | 2.9 | 60.5 |
| FamilyDoctor | 2 (G20) | 9.0 | 1.7 | 11 | 2.6 | 61.1 |
| HealingWell | 29 | 12.1 | 3.5 | 17 | 3.4 | 65.8 |
| HealthCentral | 28 | 11.2 | 3.8 | 20 | 3.3 | 68.4 |
| HealthScout | 10 | 12.7 | 1.9 | 10 | 2.1 | 52.8 |
| KidsHealth For Kids | § | 9.2 | 1.5 | 10 | 2.2 | 70.6 |
| KidsHealth For Parents | 1 (G5) | 12.1 | 1.7 | 10 | 2.1 | 58.8 |
| KidsHealth For Teens | (G30) | 12.3 | 1.7 | 13 | 2.0 | 50.0 |
| LabTestsOnline | 20 | 13.1 | 1.4 | 8 | 2.8 | 50.0 |
| MayoClinic.com | 6 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 15 | 3.3 | 63.2 |
| MayoClinic.org¶ | 25 | 12.8 | 2.3 | 14 | 2.9 | 58.3 |
| MedicineNet | 8 | 12.2 | 3.2 | 17 | 3.2 | 68.4 |
| MedlinePlus | 9 | 10.9 | 1.9 | 13 | 2.3 | 55.3 |
| MountSinaiHospital | (G11) | 11.8 | 2.4 | 14 | 3.1 | 73.7 |
| RushUniversityMedicalCenter | 23 | 12.3 | 1.9 | 13 | 2.2 | 50 |
| WebMD | 5 (G23) | 10.2 | 3.8 | 19 | 3.6 | 65.8 |
| Wikipedia | (G1) | 14.3 | 2.8 | 14 | 3.0 | 52.6 |
| WomensHealth | 4 (G24) | 9.4 | 2.9 | 16 | 3.2 | 73.7 |
*
Order is from the ‘Google’ “for patients” search when not in brackets or from the ‘Google’ general search when in brackets and with the letter G. Some sites appeared in both searches;
†
The DISCERN score is a rating from 1 to 5 averaged across 15 questions;
‡
The Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) score is based on a scale from 0 to 100;
§
The KidsHealth for Kids site was evaluated because the parent and teen versions were identified in the general search;
¶
Two websites from the Mayo Clinic resulted from the patient search and were evaluated independently. IBD Inflammatory bowel disease