Analysis of internet educational websites on tobacco cessation: A content analysis

Abstract

Background: There have been significant changes in the lifestyles of individuals in the past few decades, which has led to increased morbidity and mortality worldwide. Both smoking and chewing forms of tobacco are highly prevalent, especially in India, and are implicated as causes of diseases, including oropharyngeal carcinomas. Effective tobacco cessation techniques and sources can help overcome addiction and reduce the disease burden in society. The aim was to evaluate the quality and readability of contents of various sources on an internet website about tobacco cessation.

Objectives: i) To evaluate the readability of internet content (Google) regarding tobacco cessation using Flesch-Kincaid readability tests and the quality of internet content (Google) by using the JAMA benchmark, HONcode and DISCERN questionnaire.

Methods: A content review was employed to screen the content of the Google search engine for educational tobacco cessation websites, and the top 50 websites were selected according to criteria and reviewed by two reviewers. The readability of the internet content (Google) regarding tobacco cessation was evaluated using Flesch-Kincaid readability tests. The quality of the screened sites was evaluated by using the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) benchmark, HONcode (The Health on the Net Code of Conduct) and DISCERN (Discerning the Quality of Information for Choosing Treatments) questionnaire, and the readability and quality of the screened websites were correlated using the above instruments.

Results: FK readability ease was found to be 49% standard and 30% easy. The FK grade test found that 33% of the content could be easily understood by < 5 ^th grade. All 4 JAMA benchmarks were met by 23% of websites, and authorship was the least fulfilled criterion. Correlation analysis revealed a significant association between FK ease score and FK grade score.

Conclusions: The Read-ability Ease and Read-ability Grade Levels of the websites related to tobacco cessation were not standard, and few websites fulfilled the JAMA benchmarks and had HONcode certification.

Keywords: Online resources; Oral cancer; Oral health; Smokeless tobacco; Tobacco cessation; readability tests.