Dietary and herbal supplement consumer health information for pain: A cross-sectional survey and quality assessment of online content

IF 2.8 4区医学 Q2 INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Integrative Medicine Research Pub Date : 2023-09-28 DOI:10.1016/j.imr.2023.100996

Jeremy Y Ng, Sahar Popal, Sathurthika Selvanayagam

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Abstract

Background

Patients are increasingly utilizing the internet to learn about dietary and herbal supplements (DHSs) for various diseases/conditions, including pain management. Online health information has been found to be inconsistent and of poor quality in prior studies, which may have detrimental effects on patient health. This study assessed the quality of online DHSs consumer health information for pain.

Methods

Six search items related to DHSs and pain were used to generate the first 20 websites on Google across four English-speaking countries. The identified 480 webpages produced 68 eligible websites, which were then evaluated using the DISCERN tool. The mean scores and standard deviations (SD) of the reviewers’ ratings on each of the 15 DISCERN instrument items as well as the overall total score were calculated.

Results

The mean summed score for the 68 eligible websites was 46.6 (SD = 10.1), and the mean overall rating was 3.3 (SD = 0.8). Websites lacked information regarding areas of uncertainty, the effects of no treatment being used, and how treatments affect the overall quality of life. These shortcomings were especially apparent across commercial websites, which frequently displayed bias, failed to report the risks of DHS products, and lacked support for shared decision-making regarding the use of DHSs.

Conclusion

Variability exists in the quality of online consumer health information regarding DHS use for pain. Healthcare providers should be aware of and provide guidance to patients regarding the identification of reliable online resources so that they can make informed decisions about DHS use for pain management.

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膳食和草药补充剂消费者健康信息的疼痛:横断面调查和在线内容的质量评估

背景患者越来越多地利用互联网来了解针对各种疾病/病症的饮食和草药补充剂（DHSs），包括疼痛管理。先前的研究发现，在线健康信息不一致且质量差，这可能对患者健康产生不利影响。这项研究评估了在线DHS消费者疼痛健康信息的质量。方法使用六个与DHSs和疼痛相关的搜索项目，在谷歌上生成四个英语国家的前20个网站。确定的480个网页产生了68个符合条件的网站，然后使用DISCERN工具对这些网站进行了评估。计算评审员对15个DISCERN工具项目的评分的平均分和标准差（SD），以及总体总分。结果68个符合条件的网站的平均总分为46.6（SD=10.1），平均总分为3.3（SD=0.8）。网站缺乏关于不确定性领域、未使用治疗的效果以及治疗如何影响整体生活质量的信息。这些缺点在商业网站中尤为明显，这些网站经常表现出偏见，未能报告国土安全部产品的风险，并且缺乏对国土安全部使用共享决策的支持。结论DHS用于疼痛的在线消费者健康信息的质量存在差异。医疗保健提供者应了解并指导患者识别可靠的在线资源，以便他们能够就DHS用于疼痛管理做出明智的决定。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Integrative Medicine Research Medicine-Complementary and Alternative Medicine

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

2.90%

发文量

审稿时长

12 weeks

期刊介绍： Integrative Medicine Research (IMR) is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal focused on scientific research for integrative medicine including traditional medicine (emphasis on acupuncture and herbal medicine), complementary and alternative medicine, and systems medicine. The journal includes papers on basic research, clinical research, methodology, theory, computational analysis and modelling, topical reviews, medical history, education and policy based on physiology, pathology, diagnosis and the systems approach in the field of integrative medicine.