Survey of Internet Web Sites on Circumcision

Abstract

Information on circumcision is available on the Internet, which is available for parents to review. The purpose of this study is to sample and summarize the Internet’s informational content on circumcision. One hundred web sites were identified using the Google search engine on February 15, 2003. The informational content of each site was reviewed and tabulated. Seventy-three of the 100 web sites were appropriate for review. Ten agreed with recommending circumcision, 4 agreed under limited circumstances, 37 recommended against circumcision, and 4 recommended against circumcision under limited circumstances. Eighteen did not take a stance for or against. Thirteen agreed that circumcision reduces the risk of urinary tract infection, and 16 disagreed with this. Fifteen agreed that circumcision reduces the risk of penile cancer and 14 disagreed with this. Fifty-one percent of web sites surveyed were against circumcision, 14% of the web sites surveyed recommended circumcision, and 25% of surveyed web sites had no opinion.