Quality Assessment of Internet Information Regarding Periodontitis in Persons Living with HIV

Hester Groenewegen (), Arjan Vissink (), Fred K. L. Spijkervet, Wouter F. W. Bierman and Konstantina Delli
Additional contact information
Hester Groenewegen: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
Arjan Vissink: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
Fred K. L. Spijkervet: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
Wouter F. W. Bierman: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
Konstantina Delli: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: The Internet is the most used source of HIV information second to information received from healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of Internet information about periodontitis in people living with HIV (PLWH). An Internet search was performed on 18 April 2024 using the search terms “Periodontitis”, “Periodontal disease”, and “Gum disease” in combination with “HIV” in the most popular search engines (Google™, Bing™, and YAHOO! ® ). The first 20 results from each search term engine were pooled for analysis. Quality was assessed by JAMA benchmarks. Readability was assessed using the Flesch reading ease score (FRES). Origin of the site, type of author, and information details were also recorded. The quality of Internet information about periodontitis in PLWH varied. The mean JAMA score was 2.81 ( SD = 1.0). The websites were generally fairly difficult to read (mean FRES = 57.1, SD = 15.0). Most websites provided some advice about self-treatment of oral problems, accompanied by a strong recommendation to seek professional dental care. In conclusion, advanced reading skills on periodontitis in PLWH were required and quality features were mostly not provided. Therefore, healthcare professionals should be actively involved in developing high-quality information resources and direct patients to evidence-based materials on the Internet.

Keywords: HIV; periodontitis; readability; quality; websites; internet information (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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