Comparing Google With A Focused Diabetes Search Engine

Abstract Diabetes behavior can be influenced by patients exploring diabetes topics that may lack scientific credibility. The question this study examines is whether a Google or Health on the Net (HON) internet search, presents websites that would incline a more or less likely recommendation to patients ? A preliminary trial suggests that referrers recommend websites based on rules that may prioritize website source over content. This study will qualitatively assess the rules that participants use in deciding which websites are more suitable than others.

Method The investigators will inject a diabetes related search term into a HON and a Google search engine. The top 5 mutually exclusive websites from each search engine will be presented to 5 people from three groups stratified across endocrinologists, informaticians and PCPs. Participants will rank the websites and then identify the rules that they applied to reach their decision.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diabetes

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 10

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Brookline, Massachusetts, United States, 02446
      • Charles Safran

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Primary Care Physicians, Informaticians, Diabetologists

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• physician, informatician, diabetologist

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Primary Care Physicians
Diabetologists

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Website Ranking	Primary care and diabetes clinicians' preference in a set of webpage search results on a visual analog scale (1-100) with 1 being the lowest preference and 100 being the highest. Rankings based on qualitative measures, such as perceived clinical relevance, perceived accuracy of content, and perceived timeliness of content.	Immediate
Search Engine Preference	Based on the results of primary outcome 1 (Website Ranking), preference for search engine was measured qualitatively between Google and Health-on-the-Net.	Immediate

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Charles Safran, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 3, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 4, 2010
• First Posted (Estimate): March 5, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 7, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 1, 2018
• Last Verified: February 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Endocrine System Diseases; Diabetes Mellitus
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2009P000356