Abstract
Families often report searching the internet for guidance on how best to support children when a significant adult has cancer. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the quality, reliability, readability and content of websites, videos, and artificial intelligence (AI) resources available to adults with cancer who have caregiving responsibilities for children. Online platforms were searched using 10 phrases across Google web, YouTube, TikTok and four AI platforms. The mDISCERN instrument assessed reliability and quality, GQS assessed overall quality, and the NHS Medical Document Readability Tool assessed readability. Quantitative differences between sources were determined using pairwise analysis. Google web had significantly higher quality and reliability compared with AI and TikTok sources, with mean mDISCERN and GQS scores of 3.74 and 3.72, respectively. AI-generated resources showed lower mean mDISCERN and GQS scores of 2.77 (P < .05) and 2.32 (P < .05), respectively. TikTok videos had lower scores of 2.73 (P < .05) for mDISCERN and 2.49 (P < .05) for GQS. Estimated reading time was significantly longer (P < .05) for Google web (11:45mins) compared to AI (02:09mins). However, reading age did not differ (P = .31) at 15.09 years and 15.17 years respectively. There was a lack of accessible and inclusive resources for non-nuclear families, adults with neurodivergent children, culturally and ethnically diverse populations and families at end of life. Although Google web resources demonstrated higher overall quality and reliability, written resources across platforms often exceeded recommended reading levels, which may represent a significant health equity concern for individuals with lower health literacy and families experiencing deprivation. AI presents an opportunity whereby a single high-quality and evidence-based resource can be rapidly adapted into multiple formats, reading levels, languages and be culturally relevant. Future resources may benefit from co-production using a trusted, regulated, and centralised information hub, with supportive collaboration between health and social care professionals and technology providers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0001493 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-17 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | PLOS Digital Health |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 9 Jul 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published online - 9 Jul 2026 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2026 Anand et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article oruploaded as online supplementary information.
Underlying data are available on an online repository (Zenodo): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19883140
Funding
This study was funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), Applicant Development Award: NIHR168679. https:// www.nihr.ac.uk/. This was awarded to authors JRH, CJS, SP and LS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We would like to thank all members of the project PPIE group, the industry technology panel and steering group for their help and insights to the research.
| Funder number |
|---|
| NIHR168679 |
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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