Locating Health Information Websites, newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio shows often share health-related information. While some of this information is true, some of it is not. By locating reliable sources for health information, you can avoid information that is too good to be true, inaccurate, misleading, or not applicable to your situation (Figure 2.6). You can go on the internet to find reliable health information. You will see several websites when you search online for answers to a question about your health, but not all of this information is reliable. In general, you can find reliable information through agencies or organizations that provide education, research, or direct healthcare. URL stems that indicate reliable sources include .gov, .edu, and .org. Websites belonging to businesses that earn profits or organizations promoting a particular cause are often not trustworthy. Since the main goal of businesses is to earn profits, businesses use marketing and advertising strategies to play up the benefits of certain products and play down negative information. Organizations promoting a certain cause may only share information that supports its cause. When searching for information, begin with a reliable, general source. Does the URL end in .gov, .edu, or .org? Websites with URLs ending in .net or .com are less likely to contain reliable, health-related information. If there is an author, is the author an expert in the field? You can usually find the author’s name at the top of an article. To determine if the author is an expert, note the author’s credentials and degrees and research the author’s other work online. What is the sponsor’s goal in creating the website? Some websites contain mission statements that outline the goal of the information presented. Do all links lead to active websites? Broken links (links to content that has been removed) indicate that information is outdated or unreliable. Does the website or article cite the sources for all statistics, data, and health claims? When was the website created and last updated? A website’s header or footer should list its publication and update dates. Are advertisements on the website clearly identified? If it is easy to confuse the content on the website with advertisements, this indicates the information might be biased. Is the sponsor of the website a respectable, credible organization or individual? A website’s header or footer should list the organization or individual sponsoring the site. Mentalhealth.gov Figure 2.6 The “About Us” page on a health website is often a great place to evaluate the reliability of that source. Can some of these tips also help you evaluate printed sources? Explain. Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 42 Unit 1 Promoting a Lifetime of Health and Wellness