ABSTRACT

We aimed to evaluate the reliability of Turkish information achieved from websites about developmental dysplasia of the hip using standardized scientific methods.

The term “hip dislocation” term was scanned among the most commonly used three internet search engines. The contents of the 10 most frequently clicked sites were copied. These 30 sites were examined. In total, 9 same sites, 3 unrelated sites, and 4 academic sites were eliminated, and 14 sites remained. These sites were scored according to the patient information sheet prepared by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. One point was given for every issue included and 0 point was given for no inclusion, over a total of 26 points.

With the search of the term “hip dislocation”, 141,000 results on Google, 49,600 on Yahoo, and 46,800 on Bing were found. Results of the content points of the 14 sites that were calculated with the created standard form were determined to be an average of 13.5 points out of 26 (min: 5, max: 22, and SD: 5.02).

We determined that the most visited sites in search engines on hip dislocation contained incomplete information. A variety of applications that aim to increase the reliability of information should be undertaken, or more studies about the development of an accreditation system for Turkish language websites should be performed. (JAREM 2016; 6: 84-7)

Keywords: Hip dislocation, internet, health informatics