Breast cancer- related websites and information needs of patients in Iran

Background and Objective: as the internet websites are one the most important sources of information for breast cancer patients, we aimed to assess the quality and the coverage of health information available on Iran’s national websites on the breast cancer.Methods: in this cross-sectional study we searched two separate search engines, Google and Yahoo, using six most searched phrases related to breast cancer in Iran during last five years retrieved from Google Trend. The quality of included websites was assessed using DISCERN instrument, JAMA benchmarks, and HONcode principles; we also examined the association of websites quality with coverage of websites information on breast cancer.Results: ۶۰۰ links were screened. ۲۰ unique websites were assessed for the quality and information coverage. Median scores for all included websites (n=۲۰) were ۴۵ out of ۸۰ (range, ۲۲-۶۷) for DISCERN, ۲ out of ۴ (range, ۰-۴) for JAMA, ۴ out of ۸ (range ۰-۶) for HONcode and ۱۱ out of ۲۴ (range, ۳-۲۳) for information coverage. There was a significant positive correlation between DISCERN and HONcode score with addressing information needs score (DISCERN, r=۰.۸۷, p<۰.۰۱; HONcode, r=۰.۶۵, p<۰.۰۱).Conclusion: most retrieved links in search engine results are not reliable. Most reliable websites are accessible in search results on pages other than the first and second one. Overall quality of included websites is poor and current breast cancer information on the national websites does not address information needs of breast cancer patients comprehensively.