Objective/Purpose
To analyze the most common patient questions about laser refractive surgery on Google and to evaluate the transparency of the corresponding online information.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Subjects, Participants, and/or Controls
The first 100 Google “People Also Ask” (PAA) questions were extracted for each of five search terms (“Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis”, “LASIK”, “Photorefractive Keratectomy”, “PRK”, and “Laser eye surgery”). After deduplication, the study sample comprised 189 unique PAA questions and 284 unique source websites.
Methods, Intervention, or Testing
Data were collected on September 27, 2024, using an automated script. Questions were categorized by topic and type using Rothwell’s classification system. Source websites were assessed for transparency using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Benchmark Criteria. A repeat data extraction was performed on November 17, 2025, to assess temporal stability.
Results
Of the 189 unique questions analyzed (88 LASIK, 60 PRK, 41 laser eye surgery), most focused on evaluating the procedures (26 %), recovery timelines (17 %), and indications/management (14 %). Fact-based questions were the most common (43 %). Among the 284 unique websites, medical practice websites were the most frequent (75 %) but had amongst the lowest mean JAMA scores (1.64). Commercial websites had the highest JAMA scores (3.42). LASIK-related searches had the highest mean JAMA score (2.01), followed by laser eye surgery (2.00) and PRK (1.67). The repeat data extraction on November 17, 2025, demonstrated low temporal stability, with only 9 % to 18 % of questions and 18 % to 27 % of websites recurring.
Conclusions
At the primary sampled time point, a transparency deficit characterized the online information most frequently encountered by patients. Although medical practice websites were the most visible sources, they often lacked transparency compared to other site types. These findings suggest that clinicians and academic institutions should prioritize the transparency of their online educational content to better support informed patient decision making.
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号