Tips on Evaluating Health Information
A Health Summit Working Group, sponsored in part by a grant from the U.S. Agency for Health Care
Policy and Research, have published a
Policy Paper listing criteria for evaluating health information found on the Web. A
summary of these criteria includes:
- Credibility - Who is providing the information,
what are their credentials for doing so, how current is the information provided, does the
site really provide the information it claims to offer?
- Content - This should be accurate, complete, and
balanced with details provided on the source of the information presented as well as disclaimers
as to the limitations, scope, and purpose of the information.
- Disclosure - The purpose of the site as well
as the use of any information collected from visitors to the site should be clearly
noted.
- Links - These should be relevant to the listing
site's purpose and content, easily identified and used by the visitor, and be "working", ie.
the links should connect the visitor to the declared destination.
- Design - The Web site should be easily accessible,
without prolonged download times, and it should be logically constructed so vistors can quickly
understand how the information is arranged and accessed.
- Interactivity - There should be a feedback
mechanism in place so that visitors have the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments or
criticisms about the site.
- Caveats - It should be clearly indicated
whether the function of the site is to market products and/or services or to serve only
as an information provider.
Another group, the Health on the Net Foundation (HON) has devised a
Code of Conduct (HONcode) for Medical and Health Websites. The eight principles that
form this code are useful criteria in evaluating the reliability and soundness of information
found on the Web. The principles include:
- Authority - Information is only provided by
those qualified to do so unless it is clearly indicated that this information is from a
non-medically qualified source.
- Complementarity - It clearly indicates that
information provided at the site is not meant to replace a patient/health care provider
relationship, but to support it.
- Confidentiality - Web site owners honor
or exceed the applicable legal requirements of medical/health information privacy and this
provision is clearly apparent at the site.
- Attribution - Information provided at a site
will, when possible, be accompanied by understandable references to the source data, and the
date when the information was last modified will be clearly noted.
- Justifiability - Appropriate evidence will be
provided to support any claims to benefits/performance of specific products, services, or
treatment.
- Transparency of Authorship - The site designers
will provide information in a clear manner and provide a feedback mechanism for visitors seeking
further information.
- Transparency of Sponsorhip - Those entities
responsible for support of the site, whether funding or services, will be clearly
identified.
- Honesty in Advertising & Editorial Policy - Funding
from advertising will be clearly indicated along with a description of the site owner's
advertising policy and the difference between information content and promotional material will
be easily apparent.
Additionally, the Medical Education and Outreach Group of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science
and Education (ORISE) provides a downloadable manual,
How to Find Reliable HIV/AIDS Treatment Information on the Internet, which also provides tips
on evaluation.
This page last updated 1/25/02
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