Comparative Evaluation of Popular Search Websites on Search Results and Reliability of Health Information between Korea and United States
Yoojung Choi1, Kwanghyeon Jung1, Jonghyun Jeong1, Hyunwoo Chae1, Ju-Yeun Lee1,2, and Jaekyu Shin3*
1College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
2Researh Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
3Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco 94143, USA
2Researh Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
3Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco 94143, USA
Correspondence to: Jaekyu Shin, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California-San Francisco , 521 Parnassus Avenue, Rm 3230 UCSF Box 0622 San Francisco, CA 94117 United States
Tel: +1 415 514-2747, Fax: +1 415 514-2747, E-mail: Jaekyu.Shin@ucsf.edu
Tel: +1 415 514-2747, Fax: +1 415 514-2747, E-mail: Jaekyu.Shin@ucsf.edu
Received May 27, 2024; Revised August 30, 2024; Accepted September 3, 2024.
This is an Open Access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Abstract
- Background: Health information should be accurate and of high quality. While search websites are widely used to obtain health information, search results can vary depending on the availability of information in each language and the algorithms of search websites. We compared the search results and their reliability on popular search websites in Korea and the United States. Methods: Using the most popular search websites in Korea (A) and the US (B), with B divided into KR and US domains, we evaluated the search results for three diseases (hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis) and two medications (Lipitor, Norvasc). We compared the proportion of paid ads and website categories, as well as quality and accuracy using a validated scoring tool. Results: Search website A had a high proportion of paid ads (40.3%), compared to B KR (4.3%) and B US (0%). B US had the highest proportion of reliable websites (58.1%), followed by B KR (52.9%) and A (14.6%). B US had the highest median quality score (25) while A had the lowest (14). Additionally, B US had the highest accuracy (95%), followed by B KR (87.7%) and A (52.2%). Conclusions: Our data suggest that health information provided by popular search website in Korea is inaccurate and of low quality compared with that provided by its counterpart in the US. Users should prioritize credible websites, be cautious of ads, and seek professional advice. In addition, joint efforts from the government, search websites, and healthcare professionals are needed to provide accurate online health information.
- Keywords : Korea, online health information, reliability, search result, search website
- September 2024, 34 (3)
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