Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Correlations between the credibility score and Google ranks versus completeness and accuracy scores of websites presenting information about healthcare-associated infections in English, Romanian, and Hungarian language
| Independent variable | Dependent variable | Spearman rho | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credibility score | Completeness score | 0.273 | 0.0176 |
| Accuracy score | 0.365 | 0.0016 | |
| Google rank | Completeness score | −0.112 | 0.3389 |
| Accuracy score | −0.168 | 0.158 | |
The number (n) and relative frequencies (%) of the websites presenting information about healthcare-associated infections by general characteristics and language
| General Characteristics | Language of the websites | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English (N=25) | Romanian (N=25) | Hungarian (N=25) | Total (N=75) | |
| Specialization | ||||
| Single medical specialty, n (%) | 8 (32.0) | 6 (24.0) | 7 (28.0) | 21 (28.0) |
| Multiple medical specialties, n (%) | 17 (68.0) | 19 (76.0) | 18 (72.0) | 54 (72.0) |
| Website ownership | ||||
| Foundation, NGO, n (%) | 9 (36.0) | 4 (16.0) | 3 (12.0) | 16 (21.0) |
| Private or state health care provider, n (%) | 2 (8.0) | 3 (12.0) | 4 (16.0) | 9 (12.0) |
| Commercial company, n (%) | 7 (28.0) | 16 (64.0) | 13 (52.0) | 36 (48.0) |
| Medical product manufacturer/distributor, n (%) | 3 (12.0) | 2 (8.0) | 2 (8.0) | 7 (9.3) |
| Educational or research institution, n (%) | 4 (16) | 0 | 1 (4) | 5 (6.7) |
| Unidentifiable, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (8.0) | 2 (2.7) |
| Main purpose | ||||
| Educational, n (%) | 18 (72.0) | 17 (68.0) | 19 (76.0) | 54 (72.0) |
| Commercial, n (%) | 6 (24.0) | 6 (24.0) | 5 (20.0) | 17 (22.7) |
| Socialization or support, n (%) | 1 (4.0) | 2 (8.0) | 1 (4.0) | 4 (5.3) |
| Website format | ||||
| Thematic, n (%) | 6 (24.0) | 2 (8.0) | 4 (16.0) | 12 (16.0) |
| General portal, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (8.0) | 2 (2.7) |
| Medical portal, n (%) | 7 (28.0) | 1 (4.0) | 4 (16.0) | 12 (16.0) |
| Electronic publication, n (%) | 2 (12.0) | 5 (20.0) | 1 (4.0) | 8 (10.7) |
| Company presentation page, n (%) | 3 (12.0) | 7 (28.0) | 3 (12.0) | 13 (17.0) |
| Web-based shop, n (%) | 2 (8.0) | 9 (36.0) | 8 (32.0) | 19 (25.3) |
| Blog or personal page, n (%) | 1 (4.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.3) |
| Other, n (%) | 4 (16.0) | 1 (4.0) | 3 (12.0) | 8 (10.7) |
| Medical paradigm | ||||
| Conventional medicine, n (%) | 25 (100.0) | 4 (16.0) | 3 (12.0) | 32 (42.7) |
| Alternative medicine, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (8.0) | 2 (2.7) |
| Mixed approach, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (12.0) | 3 (12.0) | 6 (8.0) |
| Unidentifiable, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 18 (72.0) | 17 (68.0) | 35 (46.7) |
Prevalence of websites about healthcare-associated infections complying with the individual credibility criteria
| Criteria | English subsample (%) | Romanian subsample (%) | Hungarian subsample (%) | Whole sample (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner name and address | 100 | 84 | 100 | 95 |
| Mission statement | 100 | 96 | 68 | 88 |
| Consultation disclaimer | 44 | 4 | 20 | 23 |
| Disclosure of funding | 52 | 16 | 40 | 36 |
| Disclosure of commercial interest | 80 | 8 | 4 | 31 |
| Confidentiality statement | 92 | 60 | 60 | 71 |
| Providing contact mechanism | 96 | 92 | 96 | 95 |
| Authors’ credentials | 44 | 36 | 32 | 37 |
| Referencing sources | 40 | 16 | 16 | 24 |
| Display publication date | 24 | 88 | 84 | 65 |
| Displaying the date of last update | 40 | 24 | 24 | 29 |
| Quality procedure statement | 32 | 12 | 12 | 19 |
The mean values and SDs of the credibility, completeness, and accuracy scores by the websites’ general characteristics
| General characteristics | Credibility, mean (SD) | P-value | Completeness, mean (SD) | P-value | Accuracy, mean (SD) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topic | Single | 4.7 (1.8) | 0.21a | 2.4 (1.7) | 0.920a | 5.8 (0.8) | 0.423a |
| Multiple | 5.3 (1.9) | 2.4 (1.9) | 6.0 (1.3) | ||||
| Owner | NGO | 5.9 (1.5) | 0.1526b | 2.9 (1.7) | 0.6b | 6.3 (0.9) | 0.1573b |
| Health service provider | 4.9 (2.2) | 2.1 (1.5) | 5.9 (1.0) | ||||
| Commercial company | 4.8 (1.9) | 2.3 (1.9) | 5.6 (1.2) | ||||
| Other | 5.5 (1.7) | 2.6 (2.4) | 6.5 (1.4) | ||||
| Goal | Educational or networking | 5.3 (2.0) | 0.0533a | 2.5 (1.9) | 0.6033a | 6.0 (1.3) | 0.1487a |
| Commercial | 4.3 (1.3) | 2.2 (1.6) | 5.7 (0.8) | ||||
| Website type | Topic-based content | 5.9 (1.6) | 0.0008b | 2.5 (2.1) | 0.0586b | 6.7 (1.1) | 0.0113b |
| Medical portal | 6.7 (1.4) | 3.1 (2.0) | 5.9 (0.8) | ||||
| Company promotion | 3.8 (1.3) | 2.5 (1.7) | 5.7 (0.7) | ||||
| Online shop | 4.4 (1.4) | 1.4 (1.4) | 5.3 (1.5) | ||||
| Other | 5.2 (2.2) | 2.9 (1.7) | 6.3 (1.0) | ||||
| Medical paradigm | Conventional | 6.0 (1.8) | <0.0001a | 3.3 (1.8) | <0.0001a | 6.4 (1.1) | 0.005a |
| Alternative and other | 4.4 (1.7) | 1.7 (1.5) | 5.6 (1.1) | ||||