What Can You Find about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Online? Assessing Online Information on PCOS: Quality, Content, and User-Friendliness
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common yet complex condition, where education is vital. It predominantly affects reproductive-aged women, the age group with peak use of the Internet, now a major source of health information. Women with PCOS are dissatisfied with care, and the lack of useful online information is a key concern. METHODS: Using a rigorous and systematic methodology, we examined the quality, information content, and user-friendliness of online information about PCOS. Internet searches were conducted in Australia and the United Kingdom in December 2015 using Google, Bing, and Yahoo with different browsers, operating systems, and domain names. A total of 75 Web sites were evaluated and categorized. RESULTS: The majority of Web sites were commercial (41%) and not-for-profit (76%) and were aimed at women only. Less than a third of the Web sites were externally accredited. Commercial Web sites and Web sites targeting only women had the lowest quality scores, while professional-society Web sites and Web sites targeting only HPs scored the highest in quality. Accredited Web sites had higher quality and user-friendliness scores than nonaccredited Web sites. CONCLUSION: The majority of PCOS Web sites were commercially derived, targeted women, and were not accredited. There is a significant lack of quality, easy-to-read, evidence-based information online for women with PCOS.
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More recent studies highlighted a high number of websites with a commercial background.
“More recent studies highlighted the high number of websites in their findings with a commercial background [46,47,91], also pointing out a possible advantage in the quality of results when using Google, compared to other search engines [91].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [46]
The majority (n = 5) of website studies involved analysis of content from search engine results.
“The majority (n = 5) involved analysis of content from search engine results [46,47,91,94,95], while one each looked at content in teen and women’s digital magazines [93], French language internet forums [90], and a specific PCOS-related website [92].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [46]
Eight included studies in the scoping review related to PCOS content on websites.
“Eight included studies related to PCOS content on websites [46,47,90,91,92,93,94,95] (Supplementary File S3).”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [46]
The eight website studies originated from France, USA, Australia, Croatia, Greece, and the UK, with specified publication years.
“Regarding publication date and country of origin, two studies published in 2020 were from France [90] and USA [92], two in 2018 from Australia [46,47], one in 2016 from the USA [93], one in 2023 from Croatia [91], one in 2012 from Greece [94], and another in 2010 from the UK [95].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [46]
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- Authors
- Chiu, W.-L., Kuczynska-Burggraf, M., Gibson-Helm, M., Teede, H., Vincent, A., & Boyle, J.
- Affiliations
- Monash University (AU)
- Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Corresponding author
- Boyle, Jacqueline
- Venue
- Seminars in Reproductive Medicine
- Publisher
- Georg Thieme Verlag KG
- Published
- 2018-01
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 01
- Pages
- 050-058
- ISSN
- 1526-4564 (ISSN-L)
- 1526-8004
- OpenAlex
- W2889612488
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 3.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Seminars in Reproductive Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
- Keywords
- polycystic ovary syndrome, online health information, website quality, ease of use, health information quality, commercial health websites, accreditation, evidence-based information, women's health education, search engine results
- MeSH terms
- Australia, Female, Humans, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Internet, Consumer Health Information
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