Systematic Evaluation on the Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects of Korean Nutrition Education Websites

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative aspects of Korean websites related to nutrition education. A total of 30 websites were ultimately selected through 4 major Internet search engines, including Naver, Yahoo, Daum, and Nate, using several key words (i.e., nutrition education, dietary life education, nutrition information, nutrition management, etc.). A systematic review was conducted for each of the selected websites based on the American Library Association (ALA) website checklist and a data abstract form that was adapted from a previous study. Approximately two thirds of the websites were established between 2002 and 2005, and 46.6% were administrated by public health centers or schools/colleges. The most frequently targeted group was the generally healthy population (30.0%). Among the various topics of nutrition information provided, "balanced diet" was the topic most often provided by the websites. Also, an increasing trend for utilizing multimedia tools was observed; however, little technical support or instruction was provided by the websites. Only 50.0% and 63.3% of the sites clearly stated their operators and sources of provided information, respectively. Overall, the purposes of sites were clearly stated, and were not overshadowed by advertising. And most features of design, stability, and content were found to be appropriate, but several aspects, such as establishing a help/FAQ menu, regularly updating nutrition information, and converting provided information into a database for easier search and update, needed improvement. In addition, active operational strategies are greatly needed to encourage the application of materials found on sites into real educational settings.