Objective: The study aimed to assess the quality and readability of web-based information regarding the early childhood caries (ECC). Material and Methods: An internet search using ten different search terms was conducted using the Google search engine. The study was conducted in English on a total of 300 websites by a pediatric dentist. Only official and governmental websites were included in the study. The websites were evaluated for quality based on the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, the DISCERN, and Ensuring quality information for patients (EQIP toolkits). The readability formulas Flesch-Kincaid reading ease, the FleschKincaid grade level, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook reading grade level were used to analyze readability. The data obtained was analyzed with the SPSS 23 program, and p<0.05 was accepted as the statistically significant. Results: No website has reached an excellent DISCERN score. More than half of the websites did not meet any of the JAMA criteria. Only 3 of the websites met all JAMA criteria. When the total EQIP score was evaluated, it was determined that the websites showed a low-medium level of information quality. The mean reading level was 8th to 9th grade and considered standard to read. Only 7 websites were measured as difficult to read. Conclusion: The results of the conducted study showed that the information shared about ECC on websites were mostly poor in terms of quality, according to the readability formulas it was found to be significantly higher than the recommended 6th grade education level.
Keywords: Access to information; comprehension; dental caries; internet; qualitative research
Amaç: Çalışma, erken çocukluk çağı çürüklerine [Early childhood caries (ECC)] ilişkin internet tabanlı bilgilerin kalitesinin ve okunabilirliğinin değerlendirmesini amaçlamaktadır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Google arama motoru kullanılarak, on farklı arama terimi ile bir internet taraması yapıldı. Araştırma bir çocuk diş hekimi tarafından, İngilizce dilinde toplam 300 internet sitesiyle gerçekleştirildi. Araştırmaya yalnızca resmi ve hükümete ait internet siteleri dâhil edildi. İnternet siteleri, Amerikan Tıp Birliği Dergisi [Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)], DISCERN ve hastalara kaliteli bilgi sağlama [Ensuring quality information for patients (EQIP)] kıyaslama kriterleri temel alınarak kalite açısından değerlendirildi. Okunabilirliği analiz etmek için okunabilirlik formülleri Flesch-Kincaid okuma kolaylığı, Flesch-Kincaid sınıf seviyesi, Gobbledygook'un Basit Ölçüsü okuma notu seviyesi kullanıldı. Elde edilen veriler SPSS 23 programı ile analiz edildi ve p<0,05 istatistiksel olarak anlamlı kabul edildi. Bulgular: Hiçbir internet sitesi mükemmel bir DISCERN puanına ulaşamadı. İnternet sitelerinin yarısından fazlası JAMA kriterlerinin hiçbirini karşılamadı. İnternet sitelerinden yalnızca üçü tüm JAMA kriterlerini karşıladı. Toplam EQIP puanı değerlendirildiğinde web sitelerinin düşük-orta düzeyde bilgi kalitesi gösterdiği belirlendi. Ortalama okuma seviyesi 8. ila 9. sınıf arasındaydı ve okumanın standart olduğu kabul edildi. Yalnızca 7 internet sitesinin okunması zor olarak ölçüldü. Sonuç: Yapılan çalışmanın sonuçları, internet sitelerinde ECC hakkında paylaşılan bilgilerin çoğunlukla kalite ve içerik açısından zayıf olduğunu, okunabilirlik formüllerine göre önerilen 6. sınıf eğitim seviyesinin üzerinde olduğunu göstermiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Bilgiye erişim; idrak; diş çürükleri; internet; niteleyici araştırma
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