Online Information on Myofascial Pain Syndrome

October 22, 2020 updated by: Fatih Bagcier, Kars State Hospital

Quality and Readability of Online Information on Myofascial Pain Syndrome

The investigators aim in this study is to evaluate myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) related websites in terms of the quality and the readability of the information. Also, to identify the typologies of websites that provide high-quality information about MPS.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Introduction The reliability of information on the internet, which people use as an easy and practical solution about diseases, is very important for public health. The ivestigatior aim in this study to evaluate the quality and readability of websites related to myofascial pain syndrome.

Methods On April 4, 2020, web sites were searched on the Google search engine by using the term "myofascial pain syndrome". The typologies, quality and readability parameters of the sites were analyzed. Websites were divided into eight categories according to typology. In order to evaluate the quality, it is checked whether there is JAMA scoring system and HONcode certificate. Flesch-Kincaid grade and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook was used to evaluate readability.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
151

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey
      • İstanbul, Turkey, 34100
        • Biruni University Faculty of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Not appropriate

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• The URL of the first 200 sites

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The sites in languages other than English
  • The sites with video and audio recording but without reading text
  • The sites with access problems or requesting registration
  • Subscription and the sites that do not provide information about myofascial pain syndrome

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Other
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
% of websites
Time Frame: One day
Websites typologies were commercial (websites that sell or offer a product for profit), government (websites created, administered or regulated by an official government agency), health portal (websites that provide information about health issues), news (news and information created to provide newspaper or magazine websites), non-profit (charitable/supportive/educational websites that were not established for the purpose of profit-making), professional (websites created by organizations or individuals with professional medical qualifications), scientific journal (accessible scientific articles or academic publications). Websites that do not fit any typology were categorized under the heading of others.
One day
Readability Scores
Time Frame: One day

The investigators used an online tool to assess the Flesch-Kincaid Grade. The "FKG Level Formula" presents a score as a US grade level, thereby making it easier for teachers, parents, librarians, and others to judge the readability level of various books and texts. The FKG evaluates the average sentence length and average syllables per word in the calculation of readability score The investigators used an online tool to assess the Flesch-Kincaid Grade (FKG) scores of websites (https://www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/).

The "FKG Level Formula" presents a score as a US grade level, thereby making it easier for teachers, parents, librarians, and others to judge the readability level of various books and texts. The FKG evaluates the average sentence length and average syllables per word in the calculation of readability score
One day
Readability Scores
Time Frame: One day

The investigators used an online tool to assess the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) scores of websites (https://www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/).

The SMOG grade is a measure of readability that estimates the years of education needed to understand a piece of writing. In addition to parameters in the FKG scoring system, the SMOG grade evaluates the number of polysyllabic words in 30 sentences. The SMOG is widely used, particularly for checking health-related texts.

The SMOG readability formula consists of a readability equation based on average sentence length and 3 or more syllable word ratio variables
One day
Quality Scores
Time Frame: One day

It consists of four parts;

  1. Authorship; In this section, the authors, contributors and their identity information and the institutions they are affiliated with must be specified.
  2. Bibliography; All sources and references must be listed; copyright must be specified.
  3. Patent right; The "ownership" of the website must be clearly and fully disclosed, with sponsorship, advertising, insurance, business support and potential conflicts of interest.
  4. Actuality; The date when the content was published and updated must be specified.

Evaluations were made by giving 1 point to each item meeting these criteria. The lowest score that can be obtained in the JAMA criteria is "0" and the highest score is 4. A website with ≥3 points is considered as high quality, whereas ≤2 is considered as low quality. Two independent investigators (FB and OVY) evaluated JAMA scores.
One day
Reliability sertification
Time Frame: One day

The Health on the Net Foundation (HON), established to promote the online delivery of useful and reliable health information and to ensure its convenient and efficient use, has prepared HONcode to help standardize the reliability of health information available on the web.

HONcode criteria; authors' competencies should be stated, patient-physician should complete the relationship, the privacy policy should be explained, the source and date of the content should be explained, the content should be compared, the contact information should be explained, the financing of the site should be explained, and the advertisement policy should be explained. HON issues the HONcode compliance certificate to the evaluated websites. If HONcode is available on the website, that website can be considered a high quality website.
One day

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Kars State Hospital

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Fatih Bagcier, Biruni University Faculty of Medicine

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 11, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 17, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 22, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 26, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 22, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Not appropriate

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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