Assessment of the quality of health information on the Internet: evidence-based accuracy indicators for tuberculosis

Abstract

Not long ago, someone had to buy a newspaper, a book, or a magazine or go to a library to obtain information. Today, the Internet quickly facilitates a  myriad of information. However, the information provided may be obsolete, incomplete, incorrect, or  deliberately false: fake news. In the health field, this information can affect well-being or harm individuals  and society. Thus, professionals, researchers, and institutions have assessed the quality of information  on health websites to address this issue. Evaluations often verify the accuracy of the information provided.  However, the information accuracy indicators have yet to be constructed from Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). This article aims to build indicators from EBM  practices, analyzing the case of tuberculosis. This  manuscript proposes 43 information accuracy indicators that evaluated the tuberculosis information  available on the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The  results indicate that much information needs to be  included, and some data must be corrected. This evaluation reiterates the importance of building EBM  accuracy indicators. This work intends to encourage new studies about assessing the quality of health  information on the Internet.