Assessment of available online educational resources for patients with atrial fibrillation (Preprint)

BACKGROUND A diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) often leads patients to search online for information, which can expose them to information of varied quality. OBJECTIVE We conducted a qualitative systematic review of websites for patients that contain information regarding AF. METHODS The following terms were searched on 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing): AF for patients, What is AF, AF patient information, AF educational resources. Inclusion criteria were websites with a focus on comprehensive AF information, containing information about treatment options, and written in English. We excluded websites requiring membership subscription, linked to abstracts or manuscripts, or developed by private clinics. We used the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT-P/PEMAT-AV) for printable/audio-visual material to assess understandability and actionability (score range 0-100). Those with PEMAT scores of >70 meaning acceptable understandability and actionability, underwent DISCERN score to assess information content quality and reliability (score range 0-80). RESULTS The search yielded a total 720 websites which underwent full review. After excluding duplicates and those not meeting the inclusion criteria, 48 underwent full scoring. Mean overall PEMAT-P score was 68.5±17.2. Mean PEMAT-AV score was 61.1±9.4. Of the websites that scored >70% PEMAT-P, 20 (42%) underwent DISCERN scoring. Mean DISCERN score was 54.7±4.5. CONCLUSIONS There is a wide variation in the understandably, actionability and quality of websites that provide information to patients with most websites not providing patient level materials. Knowledge of quality websites could provide an important adjunct for improving individuals’ knowledge about their condition