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Carol Wallace, APR (330) 379-8761, or
Andrea Reynolds (330) 258-3192
Embargoed for May 5, 9 a.m.

MORE QUANTITY THAN QUALITY OF ASTHMA INFORMATION ON INTERNET Dr. Madhumita Sinha presents abstract at Pediatric Societies' Meeting in New Orleans on May 5

AKRON, Ohio -- April 13, 1998 -- As more parents log onto the Internet, it is becoming an important resource for health information on common childhood ailments, including asthma. However, since there are no traffic cops, road signs or regulations for the information superhighway, the accuracy and quality of information varies widely. When it comes to accurate and balanced information on childhood asthma, Web sites created by educational institutes, the government and not-for-profit organizations are better Internet resources for parents, according to Madhumita Sinha, M.D., and Chris Kennedy, M.D., Division of Emergency Medicine at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Ohio.

Dr. Sinha will present their abstract -- "Evaluation of Parent-Oriented Health Information for Childhood Asthma on the Internet: More Quantity Than Quality" -- at the 1998 Pediatric Societies' Annual Meeting on May 5 at 9 a.m. at the New Orleans Convention Center. Asthma is one of the most common, chronic diseases in youngsters.

"Parents and caregivers often seek information regarding common childhood ailments," said Dr. Sinha. "Traditionally they got their information from physicians, other health care personnel, books and patient education pamphlets, but now the Internet is a major source of such information. That's why it's extremely important to critically analyze the quality of the content on the Internet, especially as more support groups for patients and families set up their own sites."

Drs. Sinha and Kennedy divided 40 Web sites with parent-oriented, childhood asthma information into two groups -- commercial and noncommercial (i.e. educational institutes, government and nongovernmental organizations). Nineteen sites were classified as commercial and 21 sites were noncommercial. Individual sites were rated by two independent reviewers and the scoring system comprised two parts -- A & B.

In Part A, they evaluated the relevance, accuracy and balance of content of each Web site. The content was compared with standard patient education information as published by the National Institutes of Health. The parameters measured were asthma symptom identification, triggers, assessment of severity of an attack, drug information, home management and preventive aspects. Part B graded the Web sites using predefined criteria from the Department of Instructional Technology, University of Georgia. It included evaluation of site accessibility and usability; resource and author identification; information structure and design; navigability with the site and hyperlinks; and, aesthetic and affective aspects. Although commercial and noncommercial Web sites were equal in their attractiveness, noncommercial sites provide more consistent, balanced and authentic information. "Since the Internet will assume an increasing role in public education, it's crucial that all health-related information be accurate," stated Dr. Sinha. "Medicine is constantly changing and it should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure it's still correct. Definitive standards and regulations should be established for all Web sites providing medical information." -30-