Evaluation of Turkish online sepsis information in terms of readability, content coverage, and reliability

Aim: Sepsis is a clinical syndrome associated with high mortality in which early diagnosis and timely treatment significantly influence patient outcomes. In this process, patients’ and their relatives’ access to accurate, reliable, and understandable information is critical. This study aimed to evaluate the readability level, content reliability, and comprehensiveness of Turkish online sepsis-related information.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, Turkish websites containing sepsis-related information obtained using the Google search engine between January 1 and 15, 2026, were analyzed. A total of 45 websites that met the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. Readability levels were calculated using the Ateşman and Bezirci–Yılmaz formulas. Content reliability was evaluated according to the JAMA Benchmark criteria. In addition, content coverage analysis based on the Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2021 guideline and a qualitative evaluation examining structural features were performed. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analyses, and the level of significance was accepted as p0.05). According to the JAMA Benchmark evaluation, 95.6% of the websites demonstrated low reliability. Content coverage analysis showed that while the definition of sepsis and warning signs were present in most websites, preventive information and differentiation of disease stages were the most insufficient areas.Conclusion: Although most Turkish online sepsis-related information demonstrates moderate readability, substantial deficiencies exist in terms of content reliability and comprehensiveness. Online patient education materials prepared for urgent and high-mortality clinical conditions such as sepsis should be simplified in accordance with health literacy principles and supported by reliable and up-to-date sources.