Quality and Reliability of Publicly Accessible Information on Laser Treatments for Urinary Incontinence: What is Available to Our Patients?

Study Objective This study aims to determine the quality and reliability of the top 20 internet search results for laser vaginal treatment of urinary incontinence in women. Design Website review Setting n/a Patients or Participants n/a Interventions The phrases “laser treatment of urinary incontinence” and “vaginal laser therapy for urinary incontinence” were searched in the most popular search engine (Google) and the top 20 search results (as of August 2018) were analysed by 2 medical students, 2 clinical fellows and 3 urogynecologists. The quality, credibility and transparency of information was determined using the HONcode, JAMA Benchmarks and DISCERN tool. Readability was determined using the Flesch-Kincaid grade level and automated readability index. Measurements and Main Results The 20 sites evaluated had an average HON reliability score of 35.0% (± 14.2%) and an average DISCERN scores of 40.4 (± 7.7)/80 or 51%, indicating a lack of credibility and transparency. None of the sites analyzed fulfilled all 4 JAMA Benchmark criteria (Authorship, Attribution, Disclosure, Currency). The average grade level was determined to be 13.9 (± 2.8) and 14.1(± 3.1) by the Flesch-Kincaid grade level and automated readability index respectively. This is consistent with a high school to college graduate level. Conclusion This study indicates that there is a lack of reliable, high quality information available to patients on the topic of laser treatment for urinary incontinence. The information is presented such that it might be difficult for patients to understand as the grade level indicates a high level of difficulty meant for skilled readers. The available information is not geared towards informing patients about the therapies, but rather focuses on the recruitment of patients to practices, often leaving out important information in the process. Patients should be made aware of the short-comings of current available resources and use caution when reading potentially low-quality information on this topic online.