OpenLB
Open Library of Bioscience
Advanced Search
BMC complementary medicine and therapies
Sep 17, 2021;21 (1): 233.

Quality of complementary and alternative medicine information for type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional survey and quality assessment of websites.

Jeremy Y Ng, Manav Nayeni, Kevin Gilotra
Author Information
  1. Jeremy Y Ng: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, McMaster University, Room 2112, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada. ngjy2@mcmaster.ca. ORCID
  2. Manav Nayeni: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, McMaster University, Room 2112, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada. ORCID
  3. Kevin Gilotra: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, McMaster University, Room 2112, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada.
PMID: 34535126 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-021-03390-3

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is projected to reach approximately 700 million by the year 2045, with roughly 90-95% of all diabetes cases being type 2 in nature. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) frequently seek information about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) online. This study assessed the quality of publicly accessible websites providing consumer health information at the intersection of T2DM and CAM.
METHODS: An online search engine (Google) was searched to identify pertinent websites containing information specific to CAM for T2DM patients, and the relevant websites were then screened with an eligibility criteria. Consumer health information found on eligible websites were then assessed for quality using the DISCERN instrument, a 16-item standardized scoring system.
RESULTS: Across the 480 webpages identified, 94 unique webpages remained following deduplication, and 37 eligible webpages belonged to and were collapsed into 30 unique websites that were each assessed using the DISCERN instrument. The mean overall quality score (question 16) across all 30 assessed websites was 3.55 (SD = 0.86), and the mean summed DISCERN score was 52.40 (SD = 12.11). Eighty percent of websites presented a wide range of CAM treatment options with the associated benefits/risks of each treatment, but in 56.7% of the websites, the sources used to collect information were unreliable.
CONCLUSION: This study identified, assessed, and presents findings on the quality of online CAM information for T2DM. Although there were several high scoring websites, there was variability across most of the individual DISCERN items in the assessed websites. This study highlights the importance of awareness among healthcare providers regarding the reliability of online information about CAM treatment and management options for T2DM. Healthcare providers should be aware of patients' information seeking behaviour, guide them in navigating through the content they encounter online, and provide them with resources containing trustworthy and reliable information.

Keywords

Complementary and alternative medicine Consumer health information DISCERN Diabetes Information assessment Quality of information Type 2 diabetes mellitus

References

  1. Methods Inf Med. 2016 Aug 5;55(4):322-32 [PMID: 27352304]
  2. Qual Saf Health Care. 2003 Apr;12(2):88-92 [PMID: 12679503]
  3. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2021 Oct 28;31(11):3004-3015 [PMID: 34627698]
  4. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2019 Nov 01;137(11):1240-1245 [PMID: 31436789]
  5. Am J Emerg Med. 2018 Oct;36(10):1911-1913 [PMID: 29523363]
  6. Clin Med (Lond). 2013 Apr;13(2):126-31 [PMID: 23681857]
  7. Integr Med Res. 2021 Sep;10(3):100692 [PMID: 33665090]
  8. Interact J Med Res. 2018 Oct 10;7(2):e14 [PMID: 30305254]
  9. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 May 20;16:134 [PMID: 27206976]
  10. J Health Commun. 2018;23(8):724-734 [PMID: 30160641]
  11. Patient Educ Couns. 2015 Jun 29;: [PMID: 26187177]
  12. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2020 Oct;168:108365 [PMID: 32777250]
  13. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2018 May;31:1-6 [PMID: 29705440]
  14. Can J Diabetes. 2018 Apr;42 Suppl 1:S154-S161 [PMID: 29650089]
  15. J Med Internet Res. 2015 May 07;17(5):e112 [PMID: 25953147]
  16. Dermatol Ther. 2020 Nov;33(6):e14098 [PMID: 32725746]
  17. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2011 May 1;18(3):292-7 [PMID: 21262920]
  18. Health Promot Int. 2020 Dec 1;35(6):1394-1405 [PMID: 32087020]
  19. Nurs Outlook. 2011 Mar-Apr;59(2):95-106.e1 [PMID: 21402205]
  20. Adv Rheumatol. 2021 Jan 19;61(1):6 [PMID: 33468233]
  21. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2011 Nov 08;8(4):228-36 [PMID: 22064493]

MeSH Term

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Complementary Therapies
Consumer Health Information
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data Accuracy
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Quality of Health Care
Reproducibility of Results
Journal Article
Article has an altmetric score of 1

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0informationwebsitesCAMT2DMonlineassessedqualityDISCERNdiabetes2mellitustypealternativemedicinestudyhealthwebpagestreatmentcomplementarycontainingConsumerusinginstrumentscoringidentifiedunique30meanscoreacrossoptionsprovidersQualityassessmentBACKGROUND:globalprevalenceprojectedreachapproximately700millionyear2045roughly90-95%casesnaturePatientsfrequentlyseekpublicly accessibleprovidingconsumerintersectionMETHODS:searchengineGooglesearchedidentifypertinentspecificpatientsrelevantscreenedeligibilitycriteriafoundon eligible16-itemstandardizedsystemRESULTS:Across48094remainedfollowingdeduplication37eligiblebelongedand werecollapsedeach assessedoverallquestion16355SD = 086summed5240SD = 1211Eightypercentpresentedwiderangeassociatedbenefits/risks567%sourcesusedcollectunreliableCONCLUSION:presentsfindingsAlthoughseveralhighvariabilityindividualitemshighlightsimportanceawarenessamonghealthcareregardingreliabilitymanagementHealthcareawarepatients'seekingbehaviour guidethem innavigatingcontentencounterprovideresourcestrustworthyreliablediabetes:cross-sectionalsurveyComplementaryDiabetesInformationType

Similar Articles

Cited By