Evaluating Health Information on the Web
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*MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Websurfing. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthywebsurfing.html.
oMy choice for a simple, two-page handout. Not technical; very reader friendly.
•Evaluating Health Information, from MedlinePlus. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/evaluatinghealthinformation.html
oA good site for the general public. Includes a 16-minute tutorial and links to recommended sites. (A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.)
•CAM Basics: Evaluating Web-Based Health Resources. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/webresources/D337.pdf
o* Targeted toward CAM (complementary and Alternative Medicine) but criteria are applicable to any web-based health resource. Duplication and distribution encouraged!
•*From Snake Oil to Pencillin: Evaluating Consumer Health Information on the Internet. http://nnlm.gov/training/consumer/snakeoil/
oOnline course offered by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Public domain; may be copied and distributed. You’ll need to add the attribution to any handouts, as it is not include on the pages. Course includes handouts, course outline, course script, course exercises, and a PowerPoint presentation. Looks extremely useful for a more detailed teaching; this is not just a cursory look. See the Class 2 Handout for something appropriate for a short presentation.
•A User’s Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web. Includes recommended websites for several health topics. A service of the Medical Library Association. http://www.mlanet.org/resources/userguide.html#1
oThis is valuable primarily for the links to recommended websites. The first part has evaluation criteria.
•Find It Fast, MayoClinic.com, http://www.mayoclinic.com/.
oGood for the general public.
•WebMD, http://www.webmd.com/default.htm .
oA good site for the general public.
•From the Centers for Disease Control.
oFor fact, not rumor, on flu http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
•Health Website Evaluation Tool, from the HONcode website, http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Patients/HealthEvaluationTool.html.
oSimilar to HONcode Site Evaluation Form. Asks the reader to evaluate based on several criteria. Can be adapted as handout.
•HONcode Site Evaluation Form, https://www.hon.ch/cgi-bin/HONcode/Inscription/site_evaluation.pl?language=en&userCategory=individuals.
oFrom the HONcode website. Similar to the Health Website Evaluation tool. After user answers questions about the medical website being evaluated, the form provides feedback about the website’s quality. Less effective as a handout.
•HealthFinder.gov offers its Web Site Quality Checklist at http://www.healthfinder.gov/aboutus/content_guidelines.aspx
oFrom the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
6-27-2011. All links live as of this date.
See copyright information on specific pages as necessary.
compiled by Tracey Johnson, Librarian
Shawnee Community College
