Comparative Evaluation of Popular Search Websites on Search Results and Reliability of Health Information between Korea and United States

Background: Health information should be accurate and of high quality.While search websites are widely used to obtain health information, search results can vary depending on the availability of information in each language and the algorithms of search websites.We compared the search results and their reliability on popular search websites in Korea and the United States.Methods: Using the most popular search websites in Korea (A) and the US (B), with B divided into KR and US domains, we evaluated the search results for three diseases (hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis) and two medications (Lipitor, Norvasc).We compared the proportion of paid ads and website categories, as well as quality and accuracy using a validated scoring tool.Results: Search website A had a high proportion of paid ads (40.3%), compared to B KR (4.3%) and B US (0%).B US had the highest proportion of reliable websites (58.1%), followed by B KR (52.9%) and A (14.6%).B US had the highest median quality score (25) while A had the lowest (14).Additionally, B US had the highest accuracy (95%), followed by B KR (87.7%) and A (52.2%).Conclusions: Our data suggest that health information provided by popular search website in Korea is inaccurate and of low quality compared with that provided by its counterpart in the US.Users should prioritize credible websites, be cautious of ads, and seek professional advice.In addition, joint efforts from the government, search websites, and healthcare professionals are needed to provide accurate online health information.