Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A systematic review of the quality of information on the treatment of anxiety disorders on the internet

  • Published:
Current Psychiatry Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A vast amount of information describing health interventions is available on the Internet. This paper describes the systematic retrieval and quality assessment of websites containing information on the treatment of anxiety disorders. Separate searches were conducted for information on generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. The Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines yielded 540 results, 110 of which were eligible for inclusion. Sixty-seven unique websites were identified. The DISCERN scale was used to evaluate quality of content. The authors also compared the websites in terms of popularity, readability, and a range of technical criteria. Websites were generally of poor to moderate quality. Higher-quality scores were obtained for websites whose authors attributed their sources and provided a clear statement of the purpose of the website. The paper closes by considering limitations of the review and possible future research avenues.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References and Recommended Reading

  1. Ybarra ML, Suman M: Help seeking behavior and the Internet: a national survey. Int J Med Inform 2006, 75:29–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Pappas G, Papadimitriou P, Falagas ME: World Wide Web hepatitis B virus resources. J Clin Virol 2007, 38:161–164.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Delic D, Polasek O, Kern J: Internet health-information seekers in Croatia—who, what, and why? Med Inform Internet Med 2006, 31:267–273.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Eysenbach G, Powell J, Kuss O, et al.: Empirical studies assessing the quality of health information for consumers on the world wide web: a system atic review. JAMA 2002, 287:2691–2700.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ekman A, Hall P, Litton JE: Can we trust cancer information on the Internet?—A comparison of interactive cancer risk sites. Cancer Causes Control 2005, 16:765–772.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Wallace LS, Turner LW, Ballard JE, et al.: Evaluation of web-based osteoporosis educational materials. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2005, 14:936–945.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Silva LV, Mello JF, Jr, Mion O: Evaluation of Brazilian web site information on allergic rhinitis. Rev Bras Otorrinolaringol (Engl Ed) 2005, 71:590–597.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Griffiths KM, Christensen H: Quality of web based information on treatment of depression: cross sectional survey. BMJ 2000, 321:1511–1515.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Griffiths KM, Christensen H: The quality and accessibility of Australian depression sites on the World Wide Web. Med J Aust 2002, 176(Suppl):S97–S104.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Griffiths KM, Christensen H: Website quality indicators for consumers. J Med Internet Res 2005, 7:e55.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Griffiths KM, Tang TT, Hawking D, et al.: Automated assessment of the quality of depression websites. J Med Internet Res 2005, 7:e59.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Bremner JD, Quinn J, Quinn W, et al.: Surfing the net for medical information about psychological trauma: an empirical study of the quality and accuracy of trauma-related websites. Med Inform Internet Med 2006, 31:227–236.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Serdobbel Y, Pieters G, Joos S: [Obsessive compulsive disorder and the internet. An evaluation of Dutch-language websites and quality indicators]. Tijdschr Psychiatr 2006, 48:763–773.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Schmidt K, Ernst E: Assessing websites on complement ary and alternative medicine for cancer. Ann Oncol 2004, 15:733–742.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Karno M, Golding JM, Sorenson SB, et al.: The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder in five US communities. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1988, 45:1094–1099.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, et al.: Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005, 62:593–602.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Kessler RC, McGonagle KA, Zhao S, et al.: Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States. Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1994, 51:8–19.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Wittchen HU, Jacobi F: Size and burden of mental disorders in Europe—a critical review and appraisal of 27 studies. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2005, 15:357–376.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. World Health Organization: The “newly defined” burden of mental problems. In Fact Sheets, no. 217. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Charnock D, Shepperd S, Needham G, et al.: DISCERN: an instrument for judging the quality of written consumer health information on treatment choices. J Epidemiol Community Health 1999, 53:105–111.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Rees CE, Ford JE, Sheard CE: Evaluating the reliability of DISCERN: a tool for assessing the quality of written patient information on treatment choices. Patient Educ Couns 2002, 47:273–275.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Ademiluyi G, Rees CE, Sheard CE: Evaluating the reliability and validity of three tools to assess the quality of health information on the Internet. Patient Educ Couns 2003, 50:151–155.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Sullivan D: Nielsen NetRatings search engine ratings. SearchEngineWatch website. http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2156451. Updated August 22, 2006. Accessed May 9, 2007.

  24. Aslam N, Bowyer D, Wainwright A, et al.: Evaluation of Internet use by paediatric orthopaedic outpatients and the quality of information available. J Pediatr Orthop B 2005, 14:129–133.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Bernstam EV, Sagaram S, Walji M, et al.: Usability of quality measures for online health inform ation: can commonly used technical quality criteria be reliably assessed? Int J Med Inform 2005, 74:675–683.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Maloney S, Ilic D, Green S: Accessibility, nature and quality of health information on the Internet: a survey on osteoarthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2005, 44:382–385.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Charnock D: The DISCERN Handbook: quality criteria for consumer health information on treatment choices. http://www.discern.org.uk/discern.pdf. Accessed May 9, 2007.

  28. Friedman DB, Hoffman-Goetz L, Arocha JF: Health literacy and the World Wide Web: comparing the readability of leading incident cancers on the Internet. Med Inform Internet Med 2006, 31:67–87.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Kusec S, Brborovic O, Schillinger D: Diabetes websites accredited by the Health On the Net Foundation Code of Conduct: readable or not? Stud Health Technol Inform 2003, 95:655–660.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Koch GG, Landis JR, Freeman JL, et al.: A general methodology for the analysis of experiments with repeated measurement of categorical data. Biometrics 1977, 33:133–158.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Adams S, de Bont A, Berg M: Looking for answers, constructing relability: an exploration into how Dutch patients check web-based medical information. Int J Med Inform 2006, 75:66–72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Rozmovits L, Ziebland S: What do patients with prostate or breast cancer want from an Internet site? A qualitative study of information needs. Patient Educ Couns 2004, 53:57–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Krane D: Number of “cyberchondriacs”—US adults who go online for health inform ation-increases to estimated 117 million. HealthCare News website. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters/healthnews/HI_HealthCareNews2005Vol5_Iss08.pdf. Updated July 2005. Accessed May 9, 2007.

  34. Schwartz KL, Roe T, Northrup J, et al.: Family medicine patients’ use of the Internet for health information: a MetroNet study. J Am Board Fam Med 2006, 19:39–45.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Erwin BA, Turk CL, Heimberg RG, et al.: The Internet: home to a severe population of individuals with social anxiety disorder? J Anxiety Disord 2004, 18:629–646.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. iProspect Search Engine User Behavior Study (April 2006). iProspect website. http://www.iprospect.com/about/white-paper_seuserbehavior_apr06.htm. Accessed May 9, 2007.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Groote Schuur Hospital, Anzio Road, Observatory, South Africa

    Jonathan C. Ipser MA

Authors
  1. Jonathan C. Ipser MA
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sarah Dewing BSocSci (Hons)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dan J. Stein MD, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan C. Ipser MA.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ipser, J.C., Dewing, S. & Stein, D.J. A systematic review of the quality of information on the treatment of anxiety disorders on the internet. Curr Psychiatry Rep 9, 303–309 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-007-0037-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-007-0037-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation