Quality of health information for cervical cancer treatment on the internet

A search of the World Wide Web was made by a lay person to identify sites containing information on the treatment of cervical cancer. The credibility and accuracy of these sites was assessed using predefined criteria based on 'Criteria for Assessing the Quality of Health Information on the Internet' and accepted guidelines for the treatment of cervical cancer. The assessment was made independently and in duplicate by the lay reviewer and medical expert in order to allow comparison.46 relevant websites were assessed. Only one site contained all the credibility and accuracy criteria, with a further website containing all the credibility criteria. The majority of sites, 38/46, were deemed easy to navigate. The agreement between lay person and expert was good with only 6 items in total changed by the expert.This study clearly shows there is wide variation in quality of websites available to patients on the treatment of cervical cancer. Further research and consideration is needed on the effects of website information on gynaecological cancer patients and how steps can be made to insure the posting of good quality information.The internet has become a frequently used and powerful tool for patients seeking medical information. A Harris Poll showed that between 1998–1999 more than 70 million adults used the internet to find health information, a number that was predicated to be rapidly increasing each month [1]. The number of health related web sites is rising in line with the demand, with more than 70000 sites available to patients in 2000 [1]. Not only do patients access this information, but it seems that it is influencing there treatment choice. In the United States more than 70% of patients reported the health information they found influenced there treatment decision [2].Undoubtedly for cancer patients, as for all patients, the internet can be an excellent tool for reinforcing the information given by health care providers, further supplementing knowledge and providi