Applications of qualitative content analysis: evaluating the reliability and quality of health information websites

Health information websites have become an increasingly important source of information about medicine and health for non-specialists, patients, and consumers. But questions exist about the reliability of the information on such sites. Qualitative content analysis is a useful research methodology for analyzing the reliability of medical content on health information websites. Using a six-step qualitative research method loosely based on John Creswell's guidelines inResearch Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, a sample was generated, coded, described, and analyzed in qualitative terms. By developing reliability codes and scoring a sample of health information websites based on the codes, it was possible to rank ten different health information websites in order of reliability and derive some conclusions about website reliability criteria. Other features contributing to a health website’s quality and reliability are also discussed, such as the presence or absence of privacy policies, editorial policies, reliability seals, and and similar markers. The article takes a positive view of health information websites and sees them as a useful and necessary supplement to the face-to-face expertise provided by medical professionals and physicians in an increasingly digitized world. They also facilitate a more negotiated model of communication than traditional top-down, technocratic models of information sharing.