Jason H. Ghodasra|Dean Wang|Rohit Jayakar|Andrew R. Jensen|Kent T. Yamaguchi|Vishal Hegde|Kristofer J. Jones
The Assessment of Quality, Accuracy, and Readability of Online Educational Resources for Platelet-Rich Plasma
University of California, Los Angeles|University of California, Los Angeles|University of California, Los Angeles|University of California, Los Angeles|University of California, Los Angeles|University of California, Los Angeles|University of California, Los Angeles
critically evaluate quality accuracy readability readily available internet patient resources plateletrich plasma prp treatment modality musculoskeletal injuriesusing 3 commonly used internet search engines google bing yahoo search term platelet rich plasma entered first 50 websites search reviewed websites affiliation identified quality evaluated using 25point criteria based guidelines published american academy orthopaedic surgeons accuracy assessed previously described 12point grading system 3 reviewers independently readability evaluated using fleschkincaid fk grade scorea total 46 unique websites identified evaluated average quality accuracy 94 34 maximum 25 79 23 maximum 12 respectively average fk grade level 126 24 several grades higher recommended eighthgrade level patient education material ninetyone percent 4246 websites authored physicians 9 446 contained commercial bias mean quality significantly greater websites authored health care providers 98 31 vs 59 47 p 029 websites without commercial bias 99 31 vs 45 32 p 002 mean accuracy significantly lower websites authored health care providers 76 22 vs 110 12 p 004 24 1146 reported prp remains investigational treatmentthe accuracy quality online patient resources prp poor information overestimates reading ability general population websites authored health care providers higher quality lower accuracy additionally majority websites identify prp experimental treatment may fail provide appropriate patient understanding expectationsphysicians educate patients many online patient resources poor quality accuracy difficult read