Your Health, In Your Hands
Most people would like to be well-informed health consumers, but finding credible, reliable, freely accessible health information on the Web is an ongoing challenge. This Web Guide helps you locate online medical dictionaries and encyclopedias, health-specific search engines, thorough overviews of illnesses, injuries, diseases, and conditions, and advice on seeking professional medical help. For a Spanish-language version of the Guide, click here.
Expand All Guide SectionsEvaluating Online Health Information
The Internet can be a great place to find health information, but because health is a serious topic and the information you find could have potentially great significance, it's important to ensure that you receive accurate information from reliable sources. There are a substantial number of credible, comprehensive, and current information from the world's leading medical authorities to be found on the Web. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of dangerously misleading information. The following tips will help you effectively validate the credibility of a health site.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Remain skeptical at all times. The focus of your search should be finding credible information, rather than finding what you want to hear.
- Always verify information by confirming it with multiple sources. If you find a few unrelated, credible Web sites in agreement on a medical issue, your research is probably done. The same cannot be said if you read something just once.
- No single characteristic will tell you if a Web site is reliable. Each site must be examined independently to ensure that the available information is accurate, up to date, objective, and authoritative. Your first stop when visiting a health Web site should be the "About Us" section. Look for information on the site’s authority, funding, credibility, and privacy. The following are questions to ask yourself every time you visit a health site:
- Authority: Who created the Web site? Why was the information made available? What are the authors’ credentials? Look for degrees, fields of specialty, and experience. Do they provide their contact information?
- Funding: Who is funding the site? Is the Web site operated by a pharmaceutical company or business that is endorsing a specific product? Is the site trying to sell you something? Does the site have advertisements? Are they clearly labeled, or do they blend with the general information?
- Credibility: Where does the information come from? What is the site’s editorial policy? Do experts review the information? Is the information thorough and complete? Does the author address every issue that could be valuable to your understanding of the topic? When was the site last updated? When was the information posted on the site? When was it last reviewed? Do the authors make unbelievable or emotional claims? Do they advertise miracle cures? Does the information conflict with accepted medical logic?
- Privacy: What is the site’s privacy policy? Does it ask for personal information? How will it use your information? Are you comfortable with the terms of the policy? Does the site ask you to sign up or become a member? Is the Web site secure?
- Be sure to read a Web site’s disclaimer to learn about the conditions under which the information presented is being made available. The disclaimer can usually be found at the bottom of a site’s homepage or in the "About Us" section. Be wary of the authenticity of any Web site that does not have a disclaimer of some sort.
- A useful tip for judging the quality of health Web sites is to look for accreditation. This is also generally found in the "About Us" section at the bottom of the homepage. The URAC and the Health on the Net Foundation (HON) are two organizations that examine Web sites for quality. If you see their seals of approval you can be confident that you are receiving valid health information. To learn more about both organizations, visit their Web sites.
Dulcinea's Picks
For advice on assessing credibility …
MedlinePlus
has a comprehensive link directory to sources containing tips, advice, and information on evaluating online health information.
For tips on which sites to avoid …
Quackwatch
is published primarily by a retired psychiatrist who has battled misinformation about health topics for three decades. One of the most useful features is the page on avoiding a "quacky" Web site.
For accreditation information …
The URAC
is a nonprofit organization that promotes health care quality through accreditation and certification programs. URAC accredited Web sites are rigorously evaluated against over 50 standards to ensure quality of content and services. Their seal of approval validates a site’s accuracy and accountability.
The Health on the Net Foundation
has HONcode, a Web site evaluation program that verifies the quality of sites by reviewing them against eight ethical principles. These principles are authoritativeness, complementarity, privacy, attribution, justifiability, transparency, financial disclosure, and sponsorship.
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© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
