Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Nov;21(11):853-862.
doi: 10.1007/s10151-017-1708-7. Epub 2017 Nov 3.

A systematic review of online resources to support patient decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery

G E Fowler  1 , D M Baker  2   3 , M J Lee  2   3 , S R Brown  3
Affiliations

A systematic review of online resources to support patient decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery

G E Fowler et al. Tech Coloproctol. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Background: The internet is becoming an increasingly popular resource to support patient decision-making outside of the clinical encounter. The quality of online health information is variable and largely unregulated. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of online resources to support patient decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery.

Methods: This systematic review was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42017058319). Searches were performed on Google and specialist decision aid repositories using a pre-defined search strategy. Sources were analysed according to three measures: (1) their readability using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score, (2) DISCERN score and (3) International Patient Decision Aids Standards (IPDAS) minimum standards criteria score (IPDASi, v4.0).

Results: Overall, 95 sources were from Google and the specialist decision aid repositories. There were 53 duplicates removed, and 18 sources did not meet the pre-defined eligibility criteria, leaving 24 sources included in the full-text analysis. The mean Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score was higher than recommended for patient education materials (48.8 ± 15.6, range 25.2-85.3). Overall quality of sources supporting patient decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery was poor (median DISCERN score 1/5 ± 1.18, range 1-5). No sources met minimum decision-making standards (median IPDASi score 5/12 ± 2.01, range 1-8).

Conclusions: Currently, easily accessible online health information to support patient decision-making for rectal surgery is of poor quality, difficult to read and does not support shared decision-making. It is recommended that professional bodies and medical professionals seek to develop decision aids to support decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery.

Keywords: Decision-making; Online resources; Rectal prolapse; Surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study did not involve human participants and/or animals by any of the authors.

Informed consent

For this type of study informed consent is not required.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram of search strategy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Varma M, Rafferty J, Buie WD. Practice parameters for the management of rectal prolapse. Dis Colon Rectum. 2011;54(11):1339–1346. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0b013e3182310f75. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Madiba TE, Baig MK, Wexner SD. Surgical management of rectal prolapse. Arch Surg. 2005;140:63–73. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.140.1.63. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shin Surgical treatment of rectal prolapse. J Korean Soc Coloproctol. 2011;27(1):5–12. doi: 10.3393/jksc.2011.27.1.5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Royal College of Surgeons England (2016) Consent: Supported decision-making – a good practice guide. https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/college-publications/d.... Accessed 5 June 2017
    1. Fox S (2011) Health Topics: 80% of internet users look for health information online. http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media/Files/Reports/2011/PIP_Health.... Accessed 5 June 2017

Publication types