Where does YOUR health information come from?

If you are reading this, you already know that the internet has changed the lives of many of us. According to the PEW Internet & American Life Project Online Health Search 2006, eighty percent of American internet users, 113 million adults, have searched for information on at least one of seventeen health topics. Sixty-six percent of health seekers began their last search at a search engine, 27% began at a health-related website, and 72% visited two or more sites during their last health information search.

In 2006, 63% of searchers searched for a particular health disease or medical problem. About 10 million American adults searched for information on at least one health topic on a typical day in August 2006. This places health searches at about the same level of popularity on a typical day as paying bills online, reading blogs, or using the internet to look up a phone number or address.

53% of health seekers report that most recent health information session had some kind of impact on how they take care of themselves or care for someone else: 42% described it as a minor impact and 11% described it as a major impact. Only 15% of health seekers say they “always” check the source and date of the health information they find online, which another 10% said they do “most of the time”.

Three-quarters of health seekers say they check the source and date “only sometimes,” “hardly ever,” or “never,” which translates to about 85 million Americans gathering health advice online without consistently examining the quality indicators of the information they find.

These findings show that actually less people check the source of the health information than they did in 2001. The reason is believed to be because a recent study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that just 4% of “frequently visited” health websites disclosed the source of the information on their pages and 2% disclosed how the content is updated.

Although about 85% of the people who look up medical information are not checking their sources when researching health information online, few report bad outcomes and many report positive effects of their online health queries. Only 3%, or about 3 million adults, say they or someone they know has been seriously harmed by following the advice or information they found online and 66% of people who find information online do NOT talk to their doctors about the information they discover. 31%, or about 35 million adults, say they or someone they know has been significantly helped by following medical advice or health information found on the internet.

Although the fact that ‘only’ 3 million people were harmed by misinformation online, this is a large number. And, what if YOU are one of those 3 million people? There are many websites that sell products or supplements that feature articles and information that help promote the products they sell. So, their primary focus is not to provide accurate information as much as sell products. This is one clue to watch for: Does the website sell products? If so, look for another site.

Most people in the survey used common search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, which will bring up any site that fits your search terms. There are new medical search engines coming online that hope to change the way internet users approach health information online, such as Healthline.com, Healia.com, Kosmix.com, Mammahealth.com and Medstory.com, but there is still no guarantee this will ensure you find quality sites.

So, if you are looking for health information online, what should you do? The first site to consider is WebMD, www.webmd.com. This is probably the most widely respected site available. Any website connected with a medical center or hospital is also a credible site. Educational institutions such as Loma Linda University (http://www.llu.edu/) or UCLA Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine (http://www.mbcrc.med.ucla.edu/Index.htm) are examples of sites that can provide accurate information on topics such as alternative care and vegetarian diets.

To read the entire PEW

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Online_Health_2006.pdf