LibGuides: Nursing Library Orientation: Health Websites

Criteria for Evaluating Web Resources

Web users are encouraged to employ a healthy skepticism when visiting any site and to use criteria, such as those below, to gather evidence on the quality of the information in the Web site.

[Click here for a Website evaluation form--in PDF This is a link to a Portable Document Format (PDF) file or Microsoft Word or RTF format--designed to be used in conjunction with these criteria. Faculty are invited to use this form in their classes when making an assignment of this type].

Authority: Who created the site?
- What is their authority?
  - Do they have expertise or experience with the topic?
  - What are their credentials, institutional affiliation?
- Is organizational information provided?
- Does the URL suggest a reputable affiliation with regard to the topic--personal or official site; type of Internet domain (i.e., .edu: educational institution; .org: non-profit organization; .com: commercial enterprise; .net: Internet Service Provider; .gov: governmental body; .mil: military body)?
Objectivity: Is the purpose and intention of the site clear, including any bias or particular viewpoint?
- Are the purpose and scope stated?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the information clearly presented as being factual or opinion, primary or secondary in origin?
- What criteria are used for inclusion of the information?
- Is any sponsorship or underwriting fully disclosed?
Accuracy: Is the information presented accurate?
- Are the facts documented or well-researched?
- Are the facts similar to those reported in related print or other online sources?
- Are the Web resources for which links are provided quality sites?
Currency: Is the information current?
- Is the content current?
- Are the pages date-stamped with last update?
Usability: Is the site well-designed and stable?
- Is the site organization logical and easy to maneuver?
- Is the content written at a level that is readable by the intended audience?
- Has attention been paid to presenting the information as error-free (e.g., spelling, punctuation) as possible?
- Is there a readily identifiable link back to the institutional or organizational home page?
- Is the site reliably accessible?

General Health Websites

Healthfinder
Healthfinder is a Web site from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. It provides an extensive searchable database of reliable online health publications, clearinghouses, Web sites, self-help groups, government agencies, academic centers, and nonprofit agencies.
MEDLINEplus
Excellent collection of quality health sites compiled by the National Library of Medicine. In addition to sources on about 500 diseases and conditions, there are "lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia and dictionaries, health information in Spanish, extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, health information from the media, and links to thousands of clinical trials." Patient education tutorials are also provided.

Other Quality Health Sites

AHRQ Quality Indicators
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): "Quality Indicators (QIs) are standardized, evidence-based measures of health care quality that can be used with readily available hospital inpatient administrative data to measure and track clinical performance and outcomes."
eMedicine Health
Consumer health information site owned by WebMD.
familydoctor.org
All of the information within familydoctor.org has been written and reviewed by the physicians and patient education professionals at the American Academy of Family Physicians. The information is regularly reviewed and updated. The information at the site is organized by special groups (women, men, children, seniors), the body, and common conditions. It is also searchable.
Go Ask Alice
The mission of Go Ask Alice! is to provide factual, in-depth, straight-forward, and nonjudgmental information to assist readers' decision-making about their physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Go Ask Alice! is supported by a team of Columbia University health educators and health care providers, along with information and research specialists from health-related organizations worldwide. The site provides weekly updates to the latest inquiries and responses, a search feature of the archi
Health Information (NIH)
This website from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is designed for individuals, including children and teens, and families, as well as practitioners, researchers, and educators. Information is available by health topics from A to Z or by body location or systems. A “Take a Quiz” box challenges viewers to test their knowledge with a series of constantly rotating true/false questions on hot topics such as diabetes.
Mental Health Net
An award-winning site bringing together all types of Internet resources relating to mental health (Web sites, discussion lists, newsgroups).
NOAH: New York Online Access to Health
This award winning site provides health information in both English and Spanish. It is sponsored by the New York Academy of Medicine and New York Public Library, as well as other institutions.
Virtual Hospital
Online resource site maintained by the College of Medicine, University of Iowa. Includes a collection of medical textbooks as well as extensive patient information.

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Nursing Library Orientation: Health Websites

Criteria for Evaluating Web Resources

General Health Websites

Other Quality Health Sites

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