I don’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve gone to the library to research a health topic for a writing assignment– 8 maybe 10 years at least. I use the Internet for background information before I interview a doctor. Then I use the Internet again for more details on the topic. Obviously it’s important that the information I receive is accurate and current before I pass it on to others in a magazine or newsletter.
Few of us were using the Internet to look up health information back in the 90’s. A recent survey found that in the US, the Internet ranks just behind doctors as a primary source for health information. The problem is not all websites are credible and not all information is reliable. Moreover, the amount of information is overwhelming and it’s going to get worse. Sources, like nonprofit groups, government agencies and pharmaceutical companies and portals like WebMD, keep expanding it.
Customized search engines
Fortunately, there are customized search engines that bring health related content online and limit your search to direct web sites rather than listing links that you need to sort. One of them is Kosmix.com, launched last year. It examines some 3 billion general web pages and divides them into 20 categories such as nutrition and symptoms to make your search more organized. It also provides a concise definition of your search term. Mammahealth.com is another health search engine as are healthline.com and healia.com, all linking directly to websites.
If you use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, use the health subsets of these services for your search by first going to Google Health or Yahoo Health. Also use the advanced searching features of the sites so you can combine terms which will make your search even more precise
A good health site can provide valuable information so that you’ll better understand your diagnosis and treatment, have a better idea about what questions to ask your doctor, and in the end become involved in your medical decision process. Keep in mind, however, that the Internet does have potential limitations and risks.
Questions to ask about a website
Here are some commonly recommended questions to ask when evaluating health information on the Internet:
• Who runs the website?
• Who are the authors, editors, experts? Their credentials?
• How is the website paid for? Are any advertisements clearly labeled?
• Why was the website created – to educate? to sell a product?
• Where does the content come?
• Who’s the primary target for the information? Can the information be easily read by the target audience?
• Do experts review content included on the website?
• Is the content current? When was the site last updated?
• Does the website ask you to share personal information? If so, what happens to that information? Be careful about your privacy.
• Does the website encourage you to talk to your physician about information you find?
• Is there contact information? phone number? address?
• How does the site manage interactions with visitors? If there’s an online discussion area find out if it’s moderated and read the discussion before joining.
Keys to finding accurate health care information on the Internet
There are ways to find accurate health care information on the Internet:
• Bring printed copies to your physician of the information you found on the Internet and ask your questions.
• Look for credible sources including your physician’s site, hospital sites, medical associations, government agencies and university medical schools and health sites.
• Ask you physician to recommend sites for your health issue.
• Read the health information critically.
Keep in mind that a site which is popular doesn’t guarantee quality or that the information is reliable.
Here are a several web sites considered to have high standards for objectivity, accuracy and quality of health resources:
• healthfinder® (http://www.healthfinder.gov) searches a database of hand-picked consumer health information from over 1,000 U.S. government agencies, clearinghouses, nonprofits, and universities.
• the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (http://www.cdc.gov)
• familydoctor.org (http://familydoctor.org) operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians, a national medical organization.
• Kidshealth® (http://www.kidshealth.org)The Nemours Foundation’s Center for Children’s Health Media provides doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence.
• MayoClinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com) is an extension of the Mayo Clinic’s effort to provide health education to the public.
• NOAH: New York Online Access to Health (http://www.noah-health.org) is a unique collection of state, local and federal health resources for consumers.
• the NCCAM Clearing House on Complementary and Alternative medicine; www.nccam.nih.gov
• The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)
o MedlinePlus (http://www.medlineplus.gov)brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.
o Entrez PubMed includes over 15 million citations for biomedical articles back to the 1950's. These citations are from MEDLINE and additional life science journals.
• OMNI (BIOME) (www.intute.ac.uk) links to Internet resources have been hand-selected and evaluated.
• The Virtual Hospital (University of Iowa) (www.vh.org) is a digital library of information written for a specific audience: e.g. patients, providers, educators, students, reporters, and more.
• MedWeb (Emory University Health Science Library) (www.medweb.emory.educ) includes a selected collection of sites of interest to the general public in addition to its primary collection of resources.
• National Library of Medicine Guide to Finding Health Information at (http://.nlm.nih.gov/services/guide.html)
How to know if the health information is right for you?
Consider these suggestions:
1. The information is best for you if you’re like the people being talked about in the reports or research.
2. The information should say who was involved in the study: gender, age, etc.
3. Information about a new therapy should compare it to the old therapy.
4. If your information is older than 3 years old, find something more recent.
5. A good health study should involve lots of patients.
6. Any research which shows 100% success isn’t telling the truth.
7. An article about one person’s health problem and their success is a one-person clinical trial and there is no such thing.
8. Read opinions on both sides before making a decision. Look for a consensus.
9. Look for information on effectiveness of treatment and also on side effects.
10. You may not be able to find the perfect article for you.
Information that you find on a Website doesn’t replace your physician’s advice. Your doctor is the best person to answer questions about your health. If you find something that doesn’t agree with what your doctor has told you, ask your doctor about it.
The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for the care and advice of your physician or other health care provider.
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