Today, more and more people are coming to rely on the internet as a source of health information. Also health practitioners are finding that their patients are coming to them with questions about information that they have found online.

Common problems experienced when looking for information online include:

• Feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information
• Having trouble finding the information you are looking for
• Finding information that is contradictory or misleading

What should I look for to make sure the information is reliable?

It is important when reading health information online that you think about the quality of the website you are reading. 

When looking at health information on the internet, be a cyber-sceptic – don’t judge a website just by its homepage.

Key questions to ask when judging a websites quality

1. Who is responsible for the website?
2. Why have they produced the website?
3. Is the website easy to understand?
4. Is the information up to date?
5. Is the information accurate and reliable?
6. Does the website respect my privacy?

1. Who is responsible for the website?

All websites should tell you who has created the website. Possible site creators may include:

• Not for profit or government organisations
• Health organisations or advocacy groups
• Commercial sites
• Sponsors or funders (e.g. pharmaceutical companies)
• Individuals

Look for this information in the ‘About us’ section of the website. Site creators can have a significant influence on the information produced. Consider how the creator may have influenced the content.

Be wary of health sites created by sponsors. Check the level of their involvement or influence. If you see ‘sponsored by an unrestricted educational grant from…’ this means that the sponsor has no say in the content of the website.  If it doesn’t say this it may mean that the information has some bias towards the sponsor

2. Why have they produced the website?

There are many reasons why someone might create a website, including to:

• Provide health information
• Raise a company’s profile
• Sell a product
• Tell a story

Details outlining why the website has been produced are usually listed in the ‘About us’ section – look for a ‘Mission Statement’ or ‘Our History’ heading.

This information may help to give you an idea of any bias the site may have. For example it may appear that an individual is more concerned with telling their own story than with presenting quality health information, or perhaps someone has created the website more for the purpose of selling their product rather than promoting general health information.

You should also ensure that the reason they have produced the site matches your purpose. For example, if you are looking for health information, going to a site that is more concerned with selling a product may not be helpful.

Be wary of websites that claim to ‘diagnose you online’ – a diagnosis can not be made without a physical examination. If you require a diagnosis it is important that you see a health practitioner in person.

3. Is the website easy to understand?

Look at the language used on the website – is it written for the consumer or the health professional? If you find information confusing or difficult to understand, it will not be helpful to you.

• Information written for consumers should use language that is simple and easy to understand.
• Information written for health professionals may use more medical terminology, or be written in a more academic style, using extensive referencing and a more formal language style.

4. Is the information up to date?

Any health information found online should list the date which it was last updated. This is usually found at the bottom of the article:

e.g. Content last updated 27 July 2007

An article which was written five months ago is likely to be more accurate and up-to-date than one written five years ago.

If the site does not list when the information was last updated – try checking the events page (if it has one). How outdated are the events? This may give you an indication of how often the website is maintained.

5. Does the website respect my privacy?

If a website asks you to sign up to access information, or collects personal data in any way, it is important to check their privacy policy. Most websites should have a direct link on their website to the privacy policy (can be easy to miss – so look carefully), or it may be listed in the ‘About us’ section.

If they are collecting your information in any way, then you need to know what they intend to do with it. Some sites may use your information simply to assess who is using their website so they can tailor it to suit their users’ needs; however some websites may sell or pass on your information to other providers to add to their mailing lists. This is often how we end up being sent junk mail or spam.

6. Is the information accurate and reliable?

Use these questions as a guideline to assess whether the information you are reading is accurate and reliable:

• Who wrote it?
• Does the site have an editorial policy?
• Are the contact details available?
• Is the information based on research?
• Is any advertising clearly identified?
• Does it have the HONcode seal of approval?

Does the site identify who wrote / produced the web content?

Reliable health information should be written (or at least reviewed) by a health professional or reputable health organisation.

Writers may include:

• Health professionals
• Health promotion workers
• Commercial group
• The sponsor / funding body
• Individual

Does the website have an editorial policy?

An editorial policy is a process which dictates the way website information is written, reviewed and produced for a website

Be aware of who is part of the editorial process:

• A site may claim “our health information is written by a team of doctors”. Sounds okay at first, but who are they and what type of doctors are they?
•  A site that provides a list of health professionals (and their credentials) who have written and / or reviewed their web content, will give you a much better indication of the quality of a website.

Does the site provide contact details if you have any further questions?

If you are unsure or uneasy about something you have read on a website, you should be able to ring someone and ask them about it. If they aren’t contactable, then it is harder for them to be accountable.

Note: Contacting the webmaster is not the same as contacting the people who manage the content of the site. The webmaster is the person who literally puts the site together, and handles any technical updates or problems that may come up.

Is the information based on current research?

Check the web information – does it refer to specific research studies?

Compare these two examples:
“A recent study shows…”
“The Health Study (2010) shows….

The first statement may be reliable – however the study isn’t named, so there is no way that we can find it and also, how ‘recent’ is recent? The second statement is better because it provides us with a name and date for the study so that we find it if we need it.

Is any advertising clearly identified?

Some websites obtain funding by placing advertisements on their websites. Check to see if the advertising is:
a) Clearly identified as an advertisement
b) More prominent than the web content

Just because there is advertising on a website, does not necessarily mean it’s not a credible website. Some websites require the funding obtained by advertising in order to fund their organisation or maintain the website. If this is the case then they should clearly identify that this is the purpose of their advertising and that the advertiser does not influence the content (check the ‘About us’ or ‘Funding’ section of the website).

If this information is not indicated, it may mean that the site is more concerned with selling a product than providing quality health information.

Does it have the HONcode seal of approval?

The Health on the Net Foundation http://www.hon.ch/ is a not for profit foundation based in Switzerland, which has put together a website accreditation process called the ‘HONcode’. This accreditation is given to a website to guide both consumers and medical professionals as to which websites are reliable sources of health information. The Health on the Net Foundation has a strict website review process and once sites are approved, they must be re-accredited annually.

Note: Websites have to apply for this accreditation, so if a site does not have the accreditation it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not reliable, it just means that you have to assess the site for yourself, rather than being guided by their recommendations.

Further resources

 JHF Making informed decisions fact sheet (57.43 KB)

HealthInsite http://www.healthinsite.gov.au  
The Jean Hailes Foundation for Women's Health is a Content Partner for this Australian Government initiative, funded by the Department of Health and Ageing. HealthInsite aims to improve the health of Australians by providing easy access to quality information about human health.

HonCode http://www.hon.ch/

Canadian toolkit http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/toolkit/index.html

Online tutorial - Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the US National Library of Medicine

Content updated September 15, 2008