Evaluation of the measurement properties of online health information quality assessment tools: A systematic review.
Yating Li, Hui Ouyang, Gan Lin and 3 others
PMID 40241869WHAT IT FOUND
Most online health information quality tools were not fully validated.
HIWET and PEMAT can be tentatively used; MCPQA and MQ-VET are not recommended.
Key findings
01Eighteen studies describing 17 online health information quality assessment tools met the review criteria.
02None of the included studies addressed cross-cultural validity or responsiveness.
03The review assigned 15 studies to Category B and 2 studies to Category C.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review excluded translated scales, so it cannot say whether these tools work across different languages or cultures. The review excluded dissertations, so it may have missed some scale development or validation studies. The COSMIN guidelines are designed for patient-reported outcome measures, and the authors say they may not be fully suitable for online health information quality tools. Many included studies had doubtful or inadequate methodological quality, and many measurement properties were not reported. The review did not test whether using these tools improves the quality of information patients receive or changes patient outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat HIWET or PEMAT as fully validated tools. The review found their evidence levels were low or very low and most tools lacked complete measurement property reporting, so they can only be used tentatively.