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Gateway to Health: Reliable Information on the Internet

Gateway to Health: Reliable Information on the Internet. Consumer Health Decisions Series. Presented by: Name Rank Department of Family Development University of Wisconsin-Extension Family Living Educator County. This Program was Developed by:. Consumer Health Education

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Gateway to Health: Reliable Information on the Internet

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  1. Gateway to Health: Reliable Information on the Internet Consumer Health Decisions Series

  2. Presented by: Name Rank Department of Family Development University of Wisconsin-Extension Family Living Educator County

  3. This Program was Developed by: Consumer Health Education Team of the University of Wisconsin Extension Family Living Program January, 2008 Marma McIntee, Molly Haak, Allison Hales Espeseth, Christine Hawkinson University of Wisconsin-Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin counties cooperating. UW-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA.

  4. Adapted with permission from: The Northern Area Health Education Center, Inc. http://www.nahec-wi.org/index.html

  5. Overview • Learn how to use the Internet as a health information source • Develop an understanding of the quality of information on the Internet • Learn the best ways to find reliable health information web sites

  6. Who uses the Internet and Why? • As of 2004, 79% of Americans had searched the Internet for health information • Internet provides: • Privacy • Convenience • Many different sources/viewpoints • Internet may encourage: • More communication with health provider

  7. Internet as Consumer Aid “One of the Internet's strengths is its ability to help consumers find the right needle in a digital haystack of data.” • Jared Sandberg Wall Street Journal columnist

  8. Internet as Consumer Annoyance “Trying to get information from the Internet is like drinking from a firehose” - Mitch Kapor Founder of Lotus software company

  9. Why should you search the Internet for health information? • Make informed health decisions • Learn about new treatments • Improve communication with health care providers • Find support • Promote healthier lifestyle • Find resources for school and work

  10. How can the Internet be confusing? • Information overload • Disorganized • Technical or unfamiliar terms Too much information can make decision-making difficult

  11. Why else is the Internet confusing? • Privacy/safety may be at risk: • Your personal/financial information • Internet is a free-for-all: • Anyone can post information • May not be reviewed by experts • The quality of some information is uncertain

  12. Why else… • Products may be unproven/illegal • Information presented may be unreliable and biased • .com (commercial) and .biz (business) sites usually selling something

  13. What suggests that this site might be selling something?

  14. Are consumers concerned about reliability? • Yes, however: • tend to visit only first few search results • spend average of 6 minutes on sites • can’t remember sites they visited • Consumers should be just as critical of information from the Internet as they are from any other source

  15. What do we mean by “reliable”? Accurate Reliable information = & Complete

  16. How can we know if Internet health information is reliable? • Even researchers find it difficult to determine what is reliable • Information on web sites for medical and academic centers is not always perfectly complete…but still credible • But new tools are being developed all the time. Let’s show you the best…

  17. First: BEWARE!! Does the web site: • make outrageous claims? • offer prescriptions or treatments not by a licensed health care provider? • offer information only to sell a product?

  18. Next, when looking at health information, does the website: • clearly state purpose and sponsors? • separate advertising/sales from health information? • only use information from other reliable sources? • say how it chooses to link to other web sites? • keep information up-to-date? • say how it will protect your personal information? • give contact information?

  19. Are there tools to check reliability? • Lots of rating symbols that supposedly indicate quality • Lots of checklists, too • Most haven’t been shown to actually work! You need to know that ones that do…

  20. What tools should we use? Some reputable sources: • Web site rating check lists • HON code (a quality rating symbol) • Subject gateways

  21. UW Libraries Web Site Checklist http://staff.library.wisc.edu/instruction/instmat/ custom/evalweb.pdf • Created by the University of Wisconsin libraries • Key questions to ask when thinking about the credibility of ANY web site

  22. DISCERN http://www.discern.org.uk/ • A 15-item checklist • Walk through a web page to help you determine the reliability of health information

  23. HONcode: “Health on the Net Code” http://www.hon.ch/ • The number-one principle that HON code subscribers must adhere to is admitting that what they do cannot ever replace the relationship between a patient and health care provider • Look for similar “disclaimers” where the HONcode does appear

  24. What are Subject Gateways? Subject gateways or directories: • Evaluate websites before linking • Point to quality information resources • Save time!

  25. Suggested Health Information Subject Gateways • Healthy Wisconsin People http://www.healthywisconsin.org/ • MEDLINE plus http://medlineplus.gov/ • healthfinder http://www.healthfinder.gov/ • BadgerLink for library resources http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/badgerlink/

  26. http://www.healthywisconsin.org/ • Links to other health information gateways • Key national and Wisconsin web resources in ten categories • Links to library resources and support, including Monday e-mail archives

  27. http://medlineplus.gov/ • Health topics • Drug Information • Dictionaries • Medical Encyclopedia • Directories

  28. http://www.healthfinder.gov/ • Search or pick topics from list • Searches can be limited to age groups/populations • News, including health events calendars • Background information & reference tools • Selection policy

  29. http://www.badgerlink.net/ • Free to Wisconsin citizens • Periodical and newspaper indexes include much full-text • EBSCO health databases • HealthSource Plus • Clinical Reference Systems • USP DI Volume II, Advice for the Patient

  30. REMEMBER: Anything you read on the Internet should be discussed with a licensed health care provider !

  31. Consumer Health Decision Series • Choosing a Health Care Provider • Communicating with Your Health Care Provider

  32. For More Information Contact: Name UW-Extension, ___________County phone Visit the UWEX website: http://www.COUNTY.uwex.edu

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