Evaluating Online Health Information
How do you determine whether the health information you find on the web is credible? Each of these criteria alone is meaningless, but together create solid guidelines for evaluation:
- Authority
- Who runs the site?
- What are the credentials of the author(s)?
- Currency
- How up to date is the information?
- When was the site last reviewed?
- Coverage
- Is information cited correctly (or at all)?
- Is their a balance between images and text
- Objectivity
- Do the authors of the site identify any conflicts of interest?
- How does the site get its funding?
- Accuracy
- How does the site determine what content to add?
- Can you contact the author(s) with questions?
Tutorials & Guides
- A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the WebThis guide provides information on how to filter through millions of health related web sites and then evaluate the content on these web pages.
- Evaluating Health InformationA guide from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health to help you decipher quality health information on the Web.
- Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of MedicineTeaches you how to evaluate the health information that you find on the Web.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality This link opens in a new windowProvides data resources and curriculum tools to teach and train health care providers and professionals to put research into practice.
Health Fraud Scams - Be Smart, Be Aware, Be Careful
Consumer Health Fraud & Quakery
- Federal Trade Commission Consumer Health InformationLearn how to decode ads for products that may over-promise cures and results.
- MedlinePlus Health FraudFocuses on health fraud resources and tips on where to report fraud cases
- National Council Against Health FraudA nonprofit health agency focusing on health misinformation, fraud, and quackery as public health problems. Links to publications, position papers and more.
- QuackwatchOperated by Stephen Barrett, M.D, site can be used to gather background information on questionable treatments.
Patient Education Materials from JAMA
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) provides high-quality print and online resources for the general public. Each Patient Page contains a basic overview of a health/medical topic with short summaries for each entry and illustrations, graphs, and diagrams that help explain each topic. Patient Pages are also available in Spanish.
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