Assessment of available online educational resources for patients with atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND A diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) often leads pa-tients to search online for information, which can expose them to information of varied quality.OBJECTIVE We conducted a qualitative systematic review of web -sites that contain useful information regarding AF.METHODS The following terms were searched on 3 search engines (Google/Yahoo/Bing): (Atrial fibrillation for patients), (What is atrial fibrillation), (Atrial fibrillation patient information), (Atrial fibrillation educational resources). Inclusion criteria included web -sites with comprehensive AF information and information about treatment options. The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials (PEMAT-P) and PEMAT for Audiovisual Materials assessed understandability and actionability (score range 0-100). Those with a mean PEMAT-P score of >70, meaning accept-able understandability and actionability, underwent DISCERN score assessment of information content quality and reliability (score range 16-80).RESULTS The search yielded 720 websites that underwent full re-view. After exclusions, 49 underwent full scoring. The mean overall PEMAT-P score was 69.3 +/- 17.2. The mean PEMAT-AV score was 63.4 +/- 13.6. Of the websites that scored >70% on the PEMAT-P, 23 (46%) underwent DISCERN scoring. The mean DISCERN score was 54.7 +/- 4.6.CONCLUSIONS There is a wide variation in the understandably, ac-tionability, and quality of websites, many not providing patient -level materials. Knowledge of quality websites could provide an important adjunct for improving patients understanding of AF.

Automated summary

This study conducted a quality assessment of websites that provide useful information about atrial fibrillation (AF). The study found that there is wide variation in the understandability, actionability, and quality of these websites, with many not providing patient-level materials. Knowledge of high-quality websites could improve patients' understanding of AF.