Analysis of the Accessibility and Quality of Information of Arthritis-Related Internet Web Sites in Korea

Choi, Jong Woo; Yoon, Joon Shik; Kim, Sei Joo

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The purposes of this study were to evaluate the accessibility of the arthritis-related web sites and the quality of the information contained in the sites. METHOD: To assess the status of arthritis-related information on the internet sites in Korea, we searched for Korean words which meant and were related with `arthritis' using the 10 most famous Korean internet search engines. Identified internet site were assessed regarding the quality of content, authorship, design, and functionality. RESULTS: The number of identified web sites ranged from 24 to 214. The average search yielded around 83 web sites listing for `arthritis'. The number of web sites listed for `arthritis' was as many as that for `hypertension', `diabetes', `cancer' or `hepatitis and hepatoma'. The frequency of appearance in a search did not correlate well with the quality of associated web sites. CONCLUSION: The quality of arthritis-related web sites in Korea varied. It is essential to develop a high quality information supplying web sites and to set up an evaluation tool for qualifying the medical information on internet.