Quality of Korean and English online health information on pediatric flatfoot retrieved from NAVER and Google using the EQIP tool: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Parents increasingly rely on the internet for health-related information about their children; however, the quality of such information remains inconsistent. Pediatric flatfoot is a common parental concern in pediatric orthopedics. This study compared the quality of NAVER-retrieved Korean-language websites and Google-retrieved English-language websites on pediatric flatfoot using the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) tool. METHODS: Websites related to pediatric flatfoot were searched using NAVER for Korean-language information and Google for English-language information. After applying the predefined exclusion criteria, 50 websites from each group were evaluated using the 36-item EQIP tool, which assesses content, identification, and structure. Total and domain scores were compared between the two groups and according to institution type. RESULTS: Google-retrieved English-language websites had significantly higher total EQIP scores than NAVER-retrieved Korean-language websites (55.50±10.17 vs. 44.88±11.83, p<0.001), with higher content and structure scores but similar identification scores. Among NAVER-retrieved Korean-language websites, public institution websites had higher total EQIP scores than private websites (55.38±8.69 vs. 39.95±9.74, p<0.001), mainly owing to higher content scores. Among the top 10 search results in each group, Google-retrieved English-language websites had higher EQIP scores and included more public institution websites than NAVER-retrieved Korean-language websites. CONCLUSION: In the selected search environment, Google-retrieved English-language websites had higher EQIP scores than NAVER-retrieved Korean-language websites. Among the NAVER-retrieved Korean-language websites, public institution websites provided higher-quality information than private websites, but their visibility in the NAVER search results was limited. Improving the quality and visibility of reliable Korean online resources may support informed parental decision-making.