Evaluation of Quality of Websites Related to Sexaholics Anonymous: Improvement of Online Patient Education in High Risk Sexual Behaviors

The internet advising system is growing as the essential means of health. Regarding the importance of addictive disorders as well as the requirement for websites to provide up-to-date information about such disorders and inform patients how to prevent and treat them, the structure and content of these websites are extremely crucial.

This research aimed to evaluate websites presenting information on treatment for sex addiction in Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) to users and also to compare the quality of related Persian and English websites.

This cross-sectional study reviewed six websites addressing SA found through the use of the Google and Yahoo search engines by searching four key terms (behavioral addiction, sex addiction, sex, treatment of sex addiction). Two Persian and four English websites related to SA were found. Each website was assessed using the Website Quality Evaluation Tool by 42 research assistants based on indicators including content, functionality, being up-to-date, links, graphics, authority, coverage and style.

Overall, the quality of websites related to SA was “trustable”. There was no significant difference between the total scores of the quality of the SA-related websites. Moreover, a significant difference was found between the English and Persian websites in terms of being up-to-date sub-criterion (P = 0.007).

The websites related to SA met the user’s needs. The scores of the Persian websites were lower than those of the English ones. Treatment programs for sex addiction within the Iran health system remain limited. This study suggests that we should use technology in national healthcare services, especially in the area of web and databases.