NURS 20010: Interpersonal and Communication Skills For Health Care Professionals: Web Sources

Consumer health information is directed toward people who use medical and health care services.  It is written in language that is easily understood by the general public and tends to emphasize self-care and prevention.

Here are some tips for locating quality consumer health Web sites:

• Think before you Google.
  • Use medical terms, if you know them.
  • Be specific.
  • Take advantage of advanced search options. 
• Use health-specific sites
  • http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/health-websites
  • Centers for Disease Control
  • eMedcineHealth
  • familydoctor.org
  • Health Information (NIH)
  • MedlinePlus
  • WebMD
• Try MedHunt, a web search engine for health sites.
• Understand the differences between free and gatedInternet sites
  • Free Web refers to the free, readily searchable Web accessed through Internet search engines such as Google
  • Gated Web refers to the part of the Internet that is accessed by "authenticating" as a valid user or paid subscriber

1.  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)?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. Currency: Is the information current?

• Is the content current?
• Are the pages date-stamped with last update?

5. 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?