Evaluation of a Health Information Web Site
In today’s society it is not uncommon for individuals to do research on his or her health. With modern day technology it is possible for anyone to access various health websites, and therefore conduct research about his or her health. Although this seem beneficial to the individual, it may be harmful if the website is unreliable and provides false information. The website nih.gov is an example of a health information site that is easily accessible to the general public. Before obtaining information from the website it is important to determine whether the website is reliable and safe to obtain health information from.
Quality
This website stood out to me because it was easy to find and from a glance it appeared to be trustworthy. The site contains various amounts of information related to health, such as cancer and psychological disorders, along with related links. According the URL domain, this site is a U.S. government based website and is directed by Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Collins is a physician-geneticist who has received the National Medal of Science and is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences (NIH, 2010). Contact information is available and one can contact Collins via mail address or e-mail. The mission at nih.gov is “to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability” (NIH, 2011). When accessing this website one can also follow various links to other websites that, along with nhi.org, are a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The U.S. Department of Heal...
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...ional Institutes of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nih.gov
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Francis S. Collins is a renowned geneticist who originally became Ph.D in Physical Chemistry at Yale University and later on, a Medical Doctor at University of North Carolina. As soon as he graduated he was offered a fellowship in Human Genetics at Yale University under the guidance of Sherman Weissman, currently Sterling Professor of Genetics. In the late 1980’s Collins became known in the field of Medical Genetics for his development of positional cloning, a technique that allows to locate a hereditary disease-causing gene by studying the inheritance pattern within a family. Working with his method researchers found the genes responsible for diseases like Cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, Neurofibromatosis, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type one, and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. In 1993 Dr. Collins succeeded Dr. James D. Watson as the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), overseeing the role of the United States in the mapping of the human genome. In 2009 President Obama personally recommended Collins to lead the National Institute of Health (NIH) where he works until present day. Francis S. Collins is by no means a bragging individual, bits and pieces of his accomplishments are scattered throughout the book and he makes no big deal about it; instead he j...
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There are five different criteria that should always be met when it comes to evaluating a website. These criteria’s include accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). Accuracy is deciphering who is hosting the website, if the website has stated the purpose and audience, and if the information on the site is reliable. A good way to check if the information can be trusted is to compare the facts found on the website with other information and facts found from other internet or print sources. Authority is verifying that the author of the website is real, because if the author is real then the information can usually be trusted as well (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). To check the authority of a site, the page should be examined for information about the author, note if anyone else has contributed to the website, check for contact information, and see if the author has created other websites with factual information. It is a good sign if there is contact information for the author, because it means someone is taking credit for the information on the page (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). If someone is taking credit, there is a better chance that the information can be trusted because the author would not want a bad reputation and to be held accountable for sharing false information. The objectivity of a website is deciding if the website is trying to sway the reader’s opinion, and if it is biased. If the advertisements on the site are being supplied by the author of the site, then there is a good chance the page is biased. There should be no bias or opinion located on a site that is supposed to supply factual information (“Criter...
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To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond healthy life-styles to wellbeing. Health promotion goes beyond health care. It puts health on the agenda of policy makers in all sectors and at all levels. It directs policy makers to be aware of the health consequences of their decisions and accept their responsibilities for
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Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.
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