2023 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Objective:

To evaluate the quality of the online educational resources for MS.

Background:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling autoimmune disease of the central nervous system is usually diagnosed at 20-50 years. Once diagnosed, people with MS may learn about their disease from their providers, social media and online education materials.

Design/Methods:

The study include100 Google searches of multiple sclerosis webpages written by MS experts, neurologists, and other writers. We used the Flescher-Kincaid score to evaluate readability. Webpages that address more than two categories (MS etiology/pathology, symptomatology, diagnosis, treatment) were characterized comprehensively; otherwise, were focused. In addition, we examined the number of articles with advertisements, and citations, if any.

Results:

MS experts wrote 30% of the websites, while neurologists wrote 22% and others 48%. About 21% of the websites written by MS experts were focused. The mean F-K score was 50.8 (SD15.6) with a 95% confidence interval of {47.7-53.9} and a median of 52. These scores reflect a reading level ranging from high school to college.

Neurologists and others wrote 5% of the webpages with higher F-K indexes. More than half (57%) of the webpages had advertisements, and those with more advertisements were more focused and not comprehensive. Webpages that were focused were more cited, while those with advertisements were less cited.

Conclusions:

The results showed that online educational webpages provide both focused and comprehensive information for MS. However, the high readability index may lead to difficulty understanding the material by people with education lower than high school.