The ABCs of Evaluating Health Information

• Do your patients look for health information on not-so-credible websites? 
• Are they asking about the latest diet or weight loss fads? 
• Are they fans of celebrity doctors who have their own TV show or website? 
• Do they follow celebrities who like to provide their fans with ‘professional’ health information? 

Do you cringe inside when they ask about such topics? It can be a teachable moment to provide some evaluation tips during the patient interaction. 

The ABCs of Website Evaluation from The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM):

• Accuracy: Is the information based on sound medical research? Are sources sited reliable and authoritative?
• Authority: What are the credentials of the author? What is the domain name? (.edu or .gov has more authority than .com and not all .org websites are credible as there is no regulation)
• Bias/Objectivity: Is advertising clearly marked? Who is sponsoring the webpage? Do the graphics, fonts, and information play to the reader’s emotions?
• Currency/Timeliness: When was the information last reviewed or updated? Do the links work?
• Coverage: Is the information complete? Are sources given for additional information?

Do all websites or publications need to meet all these criteria to be reliable sources of information? No, but the more that are met the more your patients can trust them.

The ABCs of website evaluation can to keep your patients aware of the quality of the health information they are accessing.


See Also: Trust It or Trash It


                Evaluating Sources Search Tips Page (Includes The CRAAP Test)

Questions or comments?  Contact Your Ascension Wisconsin Librarians:
         Michele Matucheski    and    Kellee Selden  




The content on this post is under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.     
This content appeared on the Dragonfly and was adapted for our audience.