Start with a clear statement of aims? | N | % | |
---|---|---|---|
 | Describes its purpose (e.g. to aid decision-making) | 9 | 53 |
Describes what it covers (to help the reader judge whether it’s worth carrying on) | 8 | 47 | |
Describes who it is for (i.e. which patient groups) | 15 | 88 | |
Provide unbiased and detailed information about options? | Â | Â | |
 | Describes the health condition | 8 | 47 |
Describes the natural course without treatment | 7 | 41 | |
Lists the treatment/management/lifestyle options | 9 | 53 | |
Describes benefits of options | 17 | 100 | |
Describes risks of options (harms/side-effects/disadvantages) | 17 | 100 | |
Describes uncertainty around the current evidence (i.e. what is not known) | 1 | 6 | |
Describes procedures (i.e., treatments, targets, monitoring, behaviour change, etc.) | 15 | 88 | |
Contain accurate information? | Â | Â | |
 | Clearly states the evidence sources used in compiling the information | 8 | 47 |
Information quoted is in line with the most up-to-date clinical evidence | 8 | 47 | |
Where mentioned, prevalence estimates give an accurate impression of how common/rare the condition is | 1 | 6 | |
Personal opinion and/or advertising are clearly distinguished from evidence-based information | 5 | 29 | |
Help patients to make appropriate decisions | Â | Â | |
 | Acknowledges (explicitly or implicitly) that the patient has decisions to make | 8 | 47 |
Helps patients to imagine what it is like to live with the condition and/or treatment effects | 4 | 24 | |
Asks patients to consider factors (e.g. priorities, motivations, treatment outcomes) affecting possible courses of action | 2 | 12 | |
Suggests ways and/or provides tools to help patients make decisions | 1 | 6 | |
Disclose conflicts of interest? | Â | Â | |
 | Includes authors’ / developers’ credentials or qualifications | 9 | 53 |
Reports source of funding for development and distribution | 6 | 35 | |
Have a clear structure and layout? | Â | Â | |
 | Is consistent in design and layout throughout | 17 | 100 |
Includes aids to finding information (e.g. contents, index, site map, or search facility) | 5 | 29 | |
Important points are emphasised through the use of summaries and/or bullet points | 10 | 59 | |
Illustrates information with diagrams and/or pictures | 7 | 41 | |
Where diagrams appear, they are labelled and relate to the subject matter | 5 | 29 | |
Sections are clearly separated | 14 | 82 | |
Help the reader judge its reliability | Â | Â | |
 | Reports date of publication | 10 | 59 |
Includes sources of further information | 7 | 41 | |
Information content total: median (IQR), min/max | 13 (6.5), 5/23 | ||
Readability (Fog Index): median (IQR), min/max | 10.0 (2.9), 7.5/15.9 |