Evaluation of the quality and readability of online information about breast cancer in China

Objective This study aimed at evaluating the quality and readability of online information about breast cancer written in Chinese. Methods An Internet search was conducted for “breast cancer” in Chinese using the Baidu search engine. Website quality was evaluated using the DISCERN instrument, and readability was evaluated using the Chinese Readability Index Explorer (CRIE). Higher DISCERN score indicated higher quality of websites, while higher CRIE score indicated lower readability of the content of the websites. We also investigated the effects of website producer category, and the associations of search engine ranking with DISCERN and CRIE scores. Results A total of 49 websites were included. The mean overall DISCERN score was 50.27 ± 4.14, and the mean CRIE score was 6.78 ± 0.16. Websites produced by non-profit organizations had the highest overall DISCERN scores, while those produced by private individuals had the lowest CRIE scores. Search engine ranking had no significant correlation with website quality or readability. Conclusions The quality and readability of breast cancer websites in Chinese were not satisfactory, and they varied among different website producer categories. Practice implications Website producers should seek to provide more accurate, comprehensive, and easy-to-understand information to better meet the needs of breast cancer patients. In addition, search engines should revise algorithms to promote websites with higher quality and accessibility.