Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccination Websites Using the DISCERN Tool and QUality Evaluation Scoring Tool

Abstract Background: This article aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine registration website across UN-recognized member states for their portal quality, reliability, ease of use, and help to the general population in informed decision-making. Methods: Twelve UN member states (countries) were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria mentioned in the Methodology section of this article. The PPS technique was used for the sampling and selection of 12 countries from 193 UN member states. Post selection of UN member states, the study used two-step evaluation techniques, Step 1 – the DISCERN checklist consists of 16 questions in three sections and is aimed to assess the reliability of information and quality of information; Step 2 – The QUality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST) consists of 6 items with a subitem, authorship, attribution, conflict of interest, complementarity, currency, and tone. The authors developed a standard set of instructions for evaluating vaccination portals to bring uniformity in understanding and context setting. Results: The DISCERN tool’s overall reliability score on the Likert scale of 0–5 was 4 (standard deviation [SD] ±1.28). On the quality of information regarding treatment choices, the average score was 3.4 (SD ± 1.67). The QUEST on ease of use, concision, and comprehensiveness demonstrated an average score of 18.1 (SD ± 8.3) out of 28. The vaccine registration portal of the Czech Republic was found to be the most informative and was able to provide scientifically valid information on safety, efficacy, long-term and short-term effects, and choice of vaccine with attributable authors’ details. India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and South Africa scored relatively low for missing critical information on the website. The United Arab Emirates, the Republic of South Korea, Indonesia, Australia, and Argentina had minor elements missing. Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination portals vary in the quality of information, and many were found unable to provide critical information for decision-making on getting vaccinated.