While there are a number of high-quality medical resources on the Web, searchers need to be extra careful when it comes to searching for health-related information. A lot of what's out there is out of date, or worse yet, inaccurate or false.
The findings of a recent Rand study help to illustrate how easy it is to find conflicting and/or misleading health information on the Net. In Evaluation of English and Spanish Health Information on the Internet, researchers found that:
· answers to important health questions are often incomplete or conflicting
· consumers may encounter a lot of irrelevant information when using search engines and simple search terms
· many users may not be able to read the information they find
Evaluating information found on the Internet is always important, but a critical eye is particularly necessary when it comes to medical information you or your clients may be relying on.
Evaluation
There are many sites out there than can help you learn how to evaluate the health and medical information you find. Five of may favourites are below:
· How To Evaluate Health Information Found on the Internet: Some Tips from the FDA
Some of the FDA's tips listed include:
1) Who maintains the site? Are they reputable?
2) Are authors' credentials listed, and can visitors to the site contact them?
3) When was the site last updated?
4) Does the site charge fees?
5) Verify the information with a doctor
6) Be cautious of sites that do not identify their affiliation, perspective, or source of information.
· CancerTrials: 10 Things to Know About Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web
The National Cancer Institute offers a few additional questions to consider when evaluating health information on the Web, including: How does the site choose links to other sites? What information about you does the site collect, and why? How does the site manage interactions with visitors?
· QuackWatch.com
From the site: "Quackwatch ... is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies. Its primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere. Founded by Dr. Stephen Barrett in 1969 as the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, it was incorporated in 1970. In 1997, it assumed its current name and began developing a worldwide network of volunteers and expert advisors. and assumed its current name. Our activities include:
· Investigating questionable claims
· Answering inquiries
· Distributing reliable publications
· Reporting illegal marketing
· Generating consumer-protection lawsuits
· Improving the quality of health information on the Internet
· Attacking misleading advertising on the Internet
The findings of a recent Rand study help to illustrate how easy it is to find conflicting and/or misleading health information on the Net. In Evaluation of English and Spanish Health Information on the Internet, researchers found that:
· answers to important health questions are often incomplete or conflicting
· consumers may encounter a lot of irrelevant information when using search engines and simple search terms
· many users may not be able to read the information they find
Evaluating information found on the Internet is always important, but a critical eye is particularly necessary when it comes to medical information you or your clients may be relying on.
Evaluation
There are many sites out there than can help you learn how to evaluate the health and medical information you find. Five of may favourites are below:
· How To Evaluate Health Information Found on the Internet: Some Tips from the FDA
Some of the FDA's tips listed include:
1) Who maintains the site? Are they reputable?
2) Are authors' credentials listed, and can visitors to the site contact them?
3) When was the site last updated?
4) Does the site charge fees?
5) Verify the information with a doctor
6) Be cautious of sites that do not identify their affiliation, perspective, or source of information.
· CancerTrials: 10 Things to Know About Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web
The National Cancer Institute offers a few additional questions to consider when evaluating health information on the Web, including: How does the site choose links to other sites? What information about you does the site collect, and why? How does the site manage interactions with visitors?
· QuackWatch.com
From the site: "Quackwatch ... is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies. Its primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere. Founded by Dr. Stephen Barrett in 1969 as the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, it was incorporated in 1970. In 1997, it assumed its current name and began developing a worldwide network of volunteers and expert advisors. and assumed its current name. Our activities include:
· Investigating questionable claims
· Answering inquiries
· Distributing reliable publications
· Reporting illegal marketing
· Generating consumer-protection lawsuits
· Improving the quality of health information on the Internet
· Attacking misleading advertising on the Internet
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