Journal of Vascular Medicine & Surgery

Abstract

A Critical Analysis of Consumer Oriented Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Information on the Internet

Keagan Werner-Gibbings and Qasabian R

Healthcare consumers are increasingly utilizing the Internet as a medium for gathering information to make decisions on their healthcare. The lack of regulation of the Internet leads to inconsistencies in the quality of available information. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of Internet based information regarding Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm surgery compared with the accepted guidelines and to provide search strategies for accessing superior quality websites. There was high variability in information quality, with over half of the studied websites giving recommendations not in accordance with current guidelines. This study demonstrated that reliable consumer information regarding AAA treatment does exist on the Internet; however variation in quality between websites make it difficult for the consumer to ensure they are obtaining accurate information. Certain website attributes are correlated with superior information quality and this can be used to guide patients in their Internet based research.