Citation

Eachus P. Int. J. Health Promot. Educ. 1999; 37(1): 30-33.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Institute of Health Education)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Health information found via the Internet will come from sources that are in the main unregulated and therefore whose quality may be suspect. As an information source, the Internet, and particularly the World Wide Web, is becoming increasingly important for both researchers and lay people alike. However, the quality of information retrieved from Internet sources may, at the very least, be variable, and some suggest even dubious or dangerous. In this study an attempt was made to simulate a typical search made by a member of the public looking for information on coronary heart disease. The findings reveal that there is an immense amount of information on this subject available via the Internet though there is considerable variation in the amount of information returned by different search engines. As was predicted, sources of information varied considerably, nevertheless it was found that the more 'respectable' sources, e.g. university medical schools and health centers, were more likely to be accessed than others. It was concluded that, at present, the quality of health information accessible via the Internet should not be a major cause for concern. However, it does not follow that this will always remain the case and in the absence of regulation and control, users of this information will have to remain vigilant.