Radiation Oncology Online: Quality, Strategies, and Disparities
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Radiation Oncology Online: Quality, Strategies, and Disparities Edward Christopher Dee 1
&
Nathan H. Varady 1
# American Association for Cancer Education 2019
Abstract Although much is known about the quality of online health information (OHI) for many malignancies, the availability of highquality OHI for oncologic treatments remains undefined. Furthermore, search strategies that improve quality of radiation oncology OHI, and disparities in availability of high-quality OHI, are not well-described. Forty phrases describing malignancies and their treatment modalities (radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery), and 57 phrases describing radiation oncology treatments, including abbreviations for some treatments and translations in different languages, were generated. The Health on the Net Foundation framework for assessing OHI quality was applied to the top 100 websites listed for each search phrase. The availability of high-quality OHI between malignancies and treatment modalities, and among treatment modalities, was compared. The roles of radiation oncology term abbreviation, search result order, patient gender, and language, on availability of highquality OHI, were also assessed. Among the first 10, 20, and 50 websites for each search phrase, there were significantly more high-quality websites for phrases describing malignancies compared with respective treatment modalities (P < 0.02 for all). There were no differences among treatment modalities. Among radiation oncology treatment phrases, there were no significant differences between searches for full-name phrases and their respective abbreviations, though earlier results were more likely to be of high quality. Gender did not affect quality of OHI, though language did. Availability of high-quality OHI for cancer treatments lags behind that of cancer OHI. For radiation oncology treatment OHI, search strategies and patient disparities highlight potential areas for provider intervention and increased quality of OHI. Keywords Oncology . Patient education . Radiation oncology . Internet . eHealth . Radiotherapy
Introduction The Internet has revolutionized how billions of people seek information about their health. As of February 2019, over four billion people use the Internet [1]. Over 80% of Americans seek health information online [2], many of whom use the Internet as their initial source of health information; they are potentially influenced by what they learn before consulting healthcare professionals [3, 4]. Furthermore, patients are playing an increasing role in making their own healthcare decisions by using what they learn on the Internet. When diagnosed with serious medical conditions, patients often turn to the Internet for options and answers [5]. A diagnosis of cancer undoubtedly influences many patients to seek information online. Oftentimes, they are faced
* Edward Christopher Dee [email protected] 1
Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
with a frenzy of treatment options that can seem overwhelming. A survey of men w
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