Health Information
Evaluating
Health Information on the Internet
Unlike information found in medical textbooks, which has been evaluated and
edited by professionals, the information on the Internet is unfiltered. It
is up to the user to evaluate and judge how good the information really is.
When looking for health information it is particularly important to think
about the information critically and examine the Web site carefully.
Listed below are some questions and tips to think about when searching for good
health information on the Internet.
What type of site is it? Is it a government site, educational or
commercial? Look at the web address for the extension. The most common are .gov
for government, .edu for educational, .com for commercial and .org for
organizational.
Who is sponsoring the site? A good Web site will make
sponsorship information clear. There should also be an address (besides an
e-mail address) or a phone number to contact for more information.
What are the credentials of the sponsor or author of the material on site?
If it is an organization or association, is it nationally recognized or is it a
local group? Also, are the author's qualifications relevant to the
topic being discussed? For example, someone with a Ph.D. in psychology
should not necessarily be accepted as an expert on nutrition.
What is the purpose of the site? Is it a public service or is it
trying to sell something? If there is advertising on a page, something
that is more and more common even with non-commercial sites, it should be
clearly separated from the informational content. Also, it is easy to
disguise promotional material as "patient education" on web sites.
If a product or treatment is given a good review on one site, try to find other
sites that also approve of it.
How current is the information? A good site will list when a
page was first established and when it was last up-dated. If there are
links to other sites, are they up-to-date?
How accurate is the information? This can be hard to determine
if you're not familiar with a topic but there are some things to look for. For
example, is the information free of spelling errors and typos? Mistakes of
these kind can indicate a lack of quality control. Are the sources of
factual information listed? For instance, if a document states,
"recent studies indicate...", are the sources for the study listed so
they can be verified? If a topic is controversial, is the information
presented in a balanced way? There are many controversies in regard to
treatment options; however, a good site will present the pros and cons of a
particular option. Be cautious with sites that claim "miracle
cures" or make conspiracy claims.
Evaluate each site separately. Links can often lead from a good site
to ones of lesser quality.
Look for awards or certificates that a site has received. For
example, the HON Code logo is displayed by sites that have agreed to abide by
eight principals set by the Health on the Net Foundation. These principles
set standards for accuracy, bias, sponsorship and confidentiality. When using a
directory or search engine that rates sites, read the page that discusses what
criteria are used to determine a site's rating.
The Internet is a wonderful source of information and, when used carefully,
can be very helpful in answering health-related questions. But the
information found on the Internet should never be used as a substitute for
consulting with a health professional. And, whenever using the
Internet, keep in mind the caveat, "It is so easy to post information on
the Internet that almost any idiot can do it, and almost every idiot has."
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