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Assessing COVID-19 Health Information on Google Using the Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST): Cross-sectional and Readability Analysis

dc.contributor.authorBachu, Vismaya S.
dc.contributor.authorMahjoub, Heba
dc.contributor.authorHoller, Albert E.
dc.contributor.authorCrihalmeanu, Tudor
dc.contributor.authorBachu, Dheevena M.
dc.contributor.authorAyyaswami, Varun
dc.contributor.authorParker, Pearman D.
dc.contributor.authorPrabhu, Arpan V.
dc.date2022-08-11T08:08:11.000
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-23T15:45:30Z
dc.date.available2022-08-23T15:45:30Z
dc.date.issued2022-02-11
dc.date.submitted2022-02-02
dc.identifier.citation<p>Bachu VS, Mahjoub H, Holler AE, Crihalmeanu T, Bachu DM, Ayyaswami V, Parker PD, Prabhu AV. Assessing COVID-19 Health Information on Google Using the Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST): Cross-sectional and Readability Analysis. JMIR Form Res. 2022 Feb 11;6(2):e32443. doi: 10.2196/32443. PMID: 34995206; PMCID: PMC8843082. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/32443">Link to article on publisher's site</a></p>
dc.identifier.issn2561-326X (Linking)
dc.identifier.doi10.2196/32443
dc.identifier.pmid34995206
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/27542
dc.description.abstractBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic spurred an increase in online information regarding disease spread and symptomatology. Objective: Our purpose is to systematically assess the quality and readability of articles resulting from frequently Google-searched COVID-19 terms in the United States. Methods: We used Google Trends to determine the 25 most commonly searched health-related phrases between February 29 and April 30, 2020. The first 30 search results for each term were collected, and articles were analyzed using the Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST). Three raters scored each article in authorship, attribution, conflict of interest, currency, complementarity, and tone. A readability analysis was conducted. Results: Exactly 709 articles were screened, and 195 fulfilled inclusion criteria. The mean article score was 18.4 (SD 2.6) of 28, with 7% (14/189) scoring in the top quartile. National news outlets published the largest share (70/189, 36%) of articles. Peer-reviewed journals attained the highest average QUEST score compared to national/regional news outlets, national/state government sites, and global health organizations (all P<.05). The average reading level was 11.7 (SD 1.9, range 5.4-16.9). Only 3 (1.6%) articles were written at the recommended sixth grade level. Conclusions: COVID-19-related articles are vastly varied in their attributes and levels of bias, and would benefit from revisions for increased readability.
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.relation<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&list_uids=34995206&dopt=Abstract">Link to Article in PubMed</a></p>
dc.relation.urlhttps://doi.org/10.2196/32443
dc.rightsCopyright ©Vismaya S Bachu, Heba Mahjoub, Albert E Holler, Tudor Crihalmeanu, Dheevena M Bachu, Varun Ayyaswami, Pearman D Parker, Arpan V Prabhu. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 11.02.2022. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectCOVID-19
dc.subjectCOVID-19 pandemic
dc.subjecthealth literacy
dc.subjectreadability
dc.subjectQUEST
dc.subjectonline health information
dc.subjectcross-sectional
dc.subjecttrend
dc.subjectinternet
dc.subjectspread
dc.subjectsymptom
dc.subjectquality
dc.subjectUnited States
dc.subjectHealth Communication
dc.subjectInfectious Disease
dc.subjectInformation Literacy
dc.subjectPublic Health Education and Promotion
dc.subjectScholarly Communication
dc.subjectVirus Diseases
dc.titleAssessing COVID-19 Health Information on Google Using the Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST): Cross-sectional and Readability Analysis
dc.typeJournal Article
dc.source.journaltitleJMIR formative research
dc.source.volume6
dc.source.issue2
dc.identifier.legacyfulltexthttps://escholarship.umassmed.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1349&amp;context=covid19&amp;unstamped=1
dc.identifier.legacycoverpagehttps://escholarship.umassmed.edu/covid19/343
dc.identifier.contextkey27945526
refterms.dateFOA2022-08-23T15:45:30Z
html.description.abstract<p><strong>Background: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic spurred an increase in online information regarding disease spread and symptomatology.</p> <p><strong>Objective: </strong>Our purpose is to systematically assess the quality and readability of articles resulting from frequently Google-searched COVID-19 terms in the United States.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used Google Trends to determine the 25 most commonly searched health-related phrases between February 29 and April 30, 2020. The first 30 search results for each term were collected, and articles were analyzed using the Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST). Three raters scored each article in authorship, attribution, conflict of interest, currency, complementarity, and tone. A readability analysis was conducted.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>Exactly 709 articles were screened, and 195 fulfilled inclusion criteria. The mean article score was 18.4 (SD 2.6) of 28, with 7% (14/189) scoring in the top quartile. National news outlets published the largest share (70/189, 36%) of articles. Peer-reviewed journals attained the highest average QUEST score compared to national/regional news outlets, national/state government sites, and global health organizations (all P<.05). The average reading level was 11.7 (SD 1.9, range 5.4-16.9). Only 3 (1.6%) articles were written at the recommended sixth grade level.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>COVID-19-related articles are vastly varied in their attributes and levels of bias, and would benefit from revisions for increased readability.</p>
dc.identifier.submissionpathcovid19/343
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Internal Medicine
dc.source.pagese32443


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Copyright ©Vismaya S Bachu, Heba Mahjoub, Albert E Holler, Tudor Crihalmeanu, Dheevena M Bachu, Varun Ayyaswami, Pearman D Parker, Arpan V Prabhu. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 11.02.2022. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright ©Vismaya S Bachu, Heba Mahjoub, Albert E Holler, Tudor Crihalmeanu, Dheevena M Bachu, Varun Ayyaswami, Pearman D Parker, Arpan V Prabhu. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 11.02.2022. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.