Assessment of Quality and Readability of Web-Based Arabic Knowledge About Cleft Lip and/or Palate: An Infodemiology Study

Objective

The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality and readability of the Arabic web-based information about cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P).

Materials and Method: Searching in three engines and checking eligibility for the first 300 websites. The quality of the included websites (72) was assessed using the DISCERN questionnaire, JAMA benchmarks, and HON code. The readability of the websites was assessed using three readability tests: FKGL, SMOG, and FRE. Then, data analysis was done.

Results

All checked websites were partly related to CL/P and contained medical facts. The affiliation of most of the websites was commercial 33 (45.8%). The mean overall DISCERN score was 2.87 (± 1.61). The maximum score was not achieved by any website, and only one (1.4%) website had the minimum score. For JAMA benchmarks, the currency was the most achieved item in 39 (54.2%) websites, and none of the websites achieved the four items. Only one website had the HON code. Based on the FRE scale, the level was very easy for most of the websites 57 (79.2%).

Conclusion

The available content about CL/P is readable but with moderate to poor quality and trustfulness. Undoubtedly, there is a serious need to increase and improve the quality of the web-based Arabic population's knowledge about CL/P, especially by governmental institutions and universities. Establishing specialized websites for CL/P is also needed.