Teen Suicide Information on the Internet: a Systematic Analysis of Quality

This study synthesized the literature on youth suicide risk factors & prevention strategies; evaluated the quality of information regarding these factors on selected Canadian websites; determined if website source was related to evidence-based rating; & determined the association of website quality indicators with evidence-based rating. 5 systematic reviews of youth suicide research & the top 20 most commonly accessed youth suicide information websites were analyzed. Only 44.2% of statements were statements supported by evidence. The 10 most highly ranked websites contained almost 80% of the total statements analyzed & one-half had a negative evidence-based rating. Compared with government websites, nonprofit organization websites were more likely, & personal & media websites were less likely to have a positive evidence-based rating. (31 refs.)