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Product-Related Emphasis of Skin Disease Information Online
Weimin Hu, PhD;
Elaine C. Siegfried, MD;
Daniel Mark Siegel, MD
Arch Dermatol. 2002;138:775-780.
Background In 2000, 41 million people searched for medical information online.
The quality of that information is unregulated, variable, and not well studied.
Objective To quantify and compare the numbers and types of Internet sites matched
for 10 diverse skin conditions through different search systems.
Design Search strategies were performed at 6-month intervals via Netscape Navigator,
using 3 search engines and 1 directory. Ten skin conditions were chosen to
represent common (psoriasis and eczema), cosmetic (wrinkles and cellulite),
difficult-to-treat (alopecia, mastocytosis, granuloma annulare, and xanthoma),
and uncommon (dermatitis herpetiformis and epidermolysis bullosa) problems.
Search strings were designed to generate lists of Web sites that provide educational
or product-related information. Results were compared.
Setting The Saint Louis University information technology server, July 9, 1999,
December 16, 1999, and February 5, 2000.
Main Outcome Measures Comparisons of the total number, top 10 ranking, and type (educational
vs product-related) of sites that matched through different search systems
at 6-month intervals.
Results The total number of matched sites for different skin conditions varied
up to 100-fold. This number increased by 30% to 316% between July and December
1999. The largest number of Web sites related to wrinkles, followed by Web
sites related to common conditions. Product-related sites outnumbered educational
sites, especially for common and cosmetic conditions. Although there were
differences in the total number of sites found through different search engines,
the ratios of product-related to educational sites were similar. Different
search engines yielded different top 10 match lists for the same condition.
The top 10 lists included higher proportions of educational sites than the
total match lists for all conditions except cellulite. Within the top 10 lists,
the rank order of well respected sites varied by search engine used and changed
over time.
Conclusions Patients are increasingly accessing the growing body of data available
through the Internet. Most Web sites contain information related to products.
Until standards are enacted to govern the distribution of online medical information,
consumers are at risk for obtaining misinformation and buying ineffective
products. To better guide patients, physicians must become familiar with this
ever-changing information.
From the Departments of Dermatology (Drs Hu and Siegfried) and Pediatrics
(Dr Siegfried), Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mo; and
the Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, State University of New
York at Stony Brook (Dr Siegel). Dr Hu is now with the Department of Dermatology,
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr Siegfried
is now with Central Dermatology, St Louis.
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ABSTRACT
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