I was drawn to a recent article (April 18, 2013) published on the American Cancer Society website entitled “Can you trust that medical journal?” written by Dr. Ted Gansler. It seems that Dr. Gansler’s article was the end result of a piece he read in the New York Times which questioned the ethics of some journal publishers.
A national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reported that “Thirty-five percent of U.S. adults say that at one time or another they have gone online specifically to try to figure out what medical condition they or someone else might have.” This represents one in three American adults who have used the web to retrieve information about a medical condition. The report refers to these individuals as “online diagnosers.”
Searching for credible medical information is certainly nothing new for a medical librarian and we often remind our user community, especially patients, family members and their caregivers, to always evaluate content pulled from the Internet and assess just how trustworthy the information really is.
Dr. Gansler provided some helpful suggestions to distinguish high-quality medical research which included looking for information from a reputable group or association like the American Cancer Society. You can also confirm the web address or URL and note the extension – does it have .gov, .edu or .org at the end? While commercial sites (.com) certainly may provide valuable information, knowing where the information is coming from is a good thing. For example, information retrieved from a medical or nursing organization (American Society of Clinical Oncology or Oncology Nursing Society) or from a prominent academic healthcare center like Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center should rate higher in your research evaluation process.
There are a few other points to keep in mind when online diagnosers search for health information on the web. They might try to avoid using Google and start their search for medical information using search engines that have been developed specifically for this purpose or look for educational websites that contain suggestions of good places to start.
They should confirm that the “medical” site is updated frequently or reflects the most up-to-date information. The online diagnoser should look for a date or latest revision which can typically be found in the footer or bottom of the page. The information should be presented in a clear and factual manner and can be verified from a primary source. Citing supporting evidence or referring you to reputable sites helps to add to the level of credibility of the information located. Multiple spelling errors or typos should be a warning sign that you might want to look elsewhere.
Often the primary source cited is a medical journal so if the online diagnoser is unable to determine the quality of the journal they can reach out to a medical librarian or better yet have a conversation with their physician on the findings of their research.
When searching for health information, it is important not to take the content at face value and to realize that not all medical information on the web is trustworthy, timely, or correct. The web can be an incredible resource if you understand how to evaluate and determine what reliable information is.
Donna Gibson
Director of Library Services