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Quality and readability of online information resources on insomnia

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Abstract

The internet is a major source for health information. An increasing number of people, including patients with insomnia, search for remedies online; however, little is known about the quality of such information. This study aimed to evaluate the quality and readability of insomnia-related online information. Google was used as the search engine, and the top websites on insomnia that met the inclusion criteria were evaluated for quality and readability. The analyzed websites belonged to nonprofit, commercial, or academic organizations and institutions such as hospitals and universities. Insomnia-related websites typically included definitions (85%), causes and risk factors (100%), symptoms (95%), and treatment options (90%). Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) was the most commonly recommended approach for insomnia treatment, and sleep drugs are frequently mentioned. The overall quality of the websites on insomnia is moderate, but all the content exceeded the recommended reading ease levels. Concerns that must be addressed to increase the quality and trustworthiness of online health information include sharing metadata, such as authorship, time of creation and last update, and conflicts of interest; providing evidence for reliability; and increasing the readability for a layman audience.

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Acknowledgments

Yan Ma acknowledges the Fellowship support from Delta Environmental & Educational Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Biotechnology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Yan Ma & Albert C. Yang

  2. Sleep Medicine Center, Airforce General Hospital, Beijing, 100142, China

    Ying Duan

  3. IBM, Software Development Lab, Littleton, MA, 01460, USA

    Ming Dong

  4. Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Albert S. Yeung

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  1. Yan Ma
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Correspondence to Yan Ma.

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Ma, Y., Yang, A.C., Duan, Y. et al. Quality and readability of online information resources on insomnia. Front. Med. 11, 423–431 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-017-0524-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-017-0524-9

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