ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
This article is part of the Research TopicDigital Public Health Communication and Health LiteracyView all articles
Arabic Web-Based Educational Resources on Iron Deficiency Anemia: An Infodemiological Study
Provisionally accepted
Hassan Alradhi
Hussain AljumahMujtaba AlzuwayrAjwan AlhassanYaqeen Al-essa
Zaenb Alsalman*
Mortadah Alsalman- King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
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Introduction: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most widespread nutritional deficiency worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the quality, reliability, and readability of Arabic web-based resources on IDA. Materials and methods: A retrospective, infodemiological descriptive study was conducted using validated assessment tools. A web-based search was performed on July 8, 2025, and the collected websites were evaluated using validated assessment tools, including DISCERN, JAMA, FKGL, SMOG, and FRE. Results: Of 36 included websites, most were from medical institutions or health portals. Overall reliability was limited (mean JAMA score 1.39 ± 0.96), and no website met all JAMA criteria. Website quality was generally moderate (DISCERN 39.72 ± 8.83), with governmental and public health websites performing poorly (p < 0.001). Readability was high (FKGL 3.65 ± 3.58; SMOG 3.26 ± 0.79; FRE ≥ 80 in 97.2%). JAMA and DISCERN scores were positively correlated (ρ = 0.430, p = 0.009). Conclusion: Arabic-language web resources on IDA are easily readable but demonstrate significant deficiencies in quality and reliability. This pronounced gap may contribute to misinformation, delayed care-seeking, and suboptimal management. Collaboration between medical institutions, public health organizations, and digital platforms will be essential for developing standardized, evidence-based patient education materials, which could support earlier intervention and help reduce the public health burden of IDA in Arabic-speaking communities.
Keywords: iron deficiency anemia, quality, readability, Arabic web resources, digital health literacy
Received: 13 Oct 2025; Accepted: 18 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alradhi, Aljumah, Alzuwayr, Alhassan, Al-essa, Alsalman and Alsalman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zaenb Alsalman, alsalman.zainab@hotmail.com
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