Abstract
Introduction
The use of osseointegrated limb replacement prostheses for amputees are rapidly growing in popularity due to the many benefits over conventional sockets. Many institutions worldwide are beginning to provide this surgical option to their patients and are advertising the service online. The aim of this study was to assess the quality and reading level of related information available online.
Materials & Methods
A search was performed using the 3 most popular English language search engines reviewing the top 40 websites from each, using the term osseointegration on. Duplicates, videos, medical journal articles and dentistry websites were excluded. All included websites were assessed for reading using the FKGL, G-Fog and FRE. Quality was assessed using the JAMA benchmark criteria, HONC erificate and a novel 16-point scoring system developed specifically for limb replacement osseointegration.
Results
The search resulted in 9,985,000 websites, 120 were assessed. 23 websites were included after removal of duplicates, medical journals and dentistry websites. None with reading grades of 6 or lower. Mean FKGL grade was 11.3/18. Mean FRE was 38.83/100. Mean G-FOG was 12.57/20. No websites had HONC. Mean JAMA score was 1.76/4. Mean HSSOIS was 5.70/16. Most provided information on indications(16/23) and explanation of osseointegration 17/23) but few discussed costs(3/23) or restrictions(9/23).
Conclusions
There is already a large amount of information available online regarding osseointegrated prostheses. However, the most accessible information may exceed most patients’ reading levels, limiting is usefulness. Further, the information available is generally of low quality, The quality of information and the readability of online content should be improved to ensure more effective patient education.
