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Psychiatric Bulletin (2008) 32: 170-173. doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.107.016188
© 2008 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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The quality of internet information on depression for lay people

Phil Ferreira-Lay, Specialist Registrar in Psychotherapy

*SW London and St George’s NHS Mental Health Trust, London, UK, email: phillip.ferreira-lay{at}swlstg-tr.nhs.uk

Steve Miller, Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy

Springfield University Hospital, SW London and St George’s NHS Mental Health Trust, London, UK

Declaration of interest

None.

AIMS AND METHOD

To examine the quality of information concerning depression available on the internet, identify factors associated with ‘good’ quality, and develop a simple-to-use instrument for assessing websites on depression. The Depression-Website Content Checklist was developed and compared with a previously validated, yet too complex, scale. Websites were assessed using both instruments.

RESULTS

Good quality information is more likely to be found on websites provided by governmental, professional and charitable organisations. The differences we observed in the median scores for these websites using the Depression-Website Content Checklist are significant at the 0.05 level (Ctot; Mann-Whitney, U=24.00; P=0.013). The Depression-Website Content Checklist is a valid and reliable user-friendly tool.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Patients can be directed towards better quality information by diverting them to public and non-sponsored websites. Clinicians can use the Depression-Website Content Checklist to determine website quality.






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British Journal of Psychiatry Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals
Copyright © 2008 The Royal College of Psychiatrists.