RT Journal Article
T1 Web-based information on the treatment of tobacco dependence for oral health professionals: analysis of english-written websites
A1 Diniz Freitas, Márcio
A1 Insua Brandariz, Ángel
A1 Keat, Ross
A1 Fricain, Jean Christophe
A1 Catros, Sylvain
A1 Monteiro, Luis
A1 Silva, Luis
A1 Lodi, Giovanni
A1 Pispero, Alberto
A1 Albuquerque, Rui
K1 Tobacco use cessation
K1 Internet
K1 General practice
K1 Dentistry
K1 Education
K1 Continuing
AB Background: Studies have been conducted on the content and quality of Web-based information for patients who are interested in smoking cessation advice and for health care practitioners regarding the content of e-learning programs about tobacco cessation. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no such information about the quality of Web-based learning resources regarding smoking cessation dedicated to oral health professionals.Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the quality of the content of webpages providing information about smoking cessation for oral health care professionals.Methods: Websites were identified using Google and Health on Net (HON) search engines using the terms: smoking cessation OR quit smoking OR stop smoking OR 3As OR 5As OR tobacco counselling AND dentistry OR dental clinic OR dentist OR dental hygienist OR oral health professionals. The first 100 consecutive results of the 2 search engines were considered for the study. Quality assessment was rated using the DISCERN questionnaire, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and the HON seal. In addition, smoking cessation content on each site was assessed using an abbreviated version of the Smoke Treatment Scale (STS-C) and the Smoking Treatment Scale-Rating (STS-R). To assess legibility of the selected websites, the Flesch Reading Ease (FRES) and the Flesch-Kinkaid Reading Grade Level (FKRGL) were used. Websites were also classified into multimedia and nonmultimedia and friendly and nonfriendly usability.Results: Of the first 200 sites selected (100 of Google and 100 of HON), only 11 met the inclusion criteria and mainly belonged to governmental institutions (n=8), with the others being prepared by Professional Associations (n=2) and nonprofit organizations (n=1). Only 3 were exclusively dedicated to smoking cessation. The average score obtained with the DISCERN was 3.0, and the average score in the FKRGL and FRES was 13.31 (standard deviation, SD 3.34) and 40.73 (SD 15.46), respectively. Of the 11 websites evaluated, none achieved all the four JAMA benchmarks. The mean score of STS-R among all the websites was 2.81 (SD 0.95) out of 5. A significant strong positive correlation was obtained between the DISCERN mean values and the STS-R (R=.89, P=.01).Conclusions: The mean quality of webpages with information for oral health care professionals about smoking cessation is low and displayed a high heterogeneity. These webpages are also difficult to read and often lack multimedia resources, which further limits their usefulness.
PB JMIR Publications
YR 2017
FD 2017
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/22935
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/22935
LA eng
NO Diniz-Freitas M, Insua A, Keat R, Fricain JC, Catros S, Monteiro L, Silva L, Lodi G, Pispero A, Albuquerque R Web-Based Information on the Treatment of Tobacco Dependence for Oral Health Professionals: Analysis of English-Written Websites J Med Internet Res 2017;19(10):e349
NO This project was cofunded by the EU’s Erasmus+ program “Smoking Cession Advice: Healthcare Professional Training” under grant agreement No. 2016-1-UK01-KA202-024266
DS Minerva
RD 28 abr 2026