Investigating the Websites in Turkey that Providing Information on Fibromyalgia Syndrome by Readability, Content and Quality

Objective: To evaluate the websites in Turkey that provide information on fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) by readability, content and quality. Materials and Methods: A total of 80 websites on fibromyalgia were included in the descriptive study. Ateşman’s Flech readability formula, Quality Criteria for Consumer Health Information (DISCERN) guide, website usability scale (WUS) was used in the evaluation. Results: 28.8% (23) of the websites belong to corporate, 2.5% (2) to the association, 53.8% (43) to personal, 3.8% (3) to commercial, 11.3% (9) to media organs. The most cited symptom was pain at 97.5% (78) and the least mentioned symptom was loss of libido at 2.5% (3). The most cited treatment was medical treatment with 82.5% (66) and exercise with 76.3% (61). The median of the Ateşman Flesch readability score of the websites in general was 55.55 [minimum (min): 21, maximum (max): 72.4), the median DISCERN score was 30 (min: 20, max: 56), the WUS score was 100 (min: 88, max: 119) found as. Conclusion: This study revealed that Turkish websites that provide information to patients about FM have poor content, low site quality, difficult to read, and high usability.