The Quality of Medical Information on the Internet

Author(s):  
Carmine Sellitto

This chapter provides an overview of some of the criteria that are currently being used to assess medical information found on the World Wide Web (WWW). Drawing from the evaluation frameworks discussed, a simple set of easy to apply criteria is proposed for evaluating on-line medical information. The criterion covers the categories of information accuracy, objectivity, privacy, currency and authority. A checklist for web page assessment and scoring is also proposed, providing an easy to use tool for medical professionals, health consumers and medical web editors.

1998 ◽  
Vol 112 (9) ◽  
pp. 854-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed A. Saada

AbstractAdvances in telecommunications technology in the last decade have fostered the development of computer networks that allow access to vast amounts of information and services. The most prominent is the Internet (Glowniak, 1995). Medical information is increasingly available on such computer networks. The purpose of the present article is to provide an update to previously published otolaryngology sites (Johns, 1996; Burton and Johns, 1996) available on the World Wide Web, and to provide the otolaryngologist with details of resources that are accessible via the Internet. However, the reader should also be aware that the uniform resource locator (URL) addresses of Web sites can change without warning.


2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses Boudourides ◽  
Gerasimos Antypas

In this paper we are presenting a simple simulation of the Internet World-Wide Web, where one observes the appearance of web pages belonging to different web sites, covering a number of different thematic topics and possessing links to other web pages. The goal of our simulation is to reproduce the form of the observed World-Wide Web and of its growth, using a small number of simple assumptions. In our simulation, existing web pages may generate new ones as follows: First, each web page is equipped with a topic concerning its contents. Second, links between web pages are established according to common topics. Next, new web pages may be randomly generated and subsequently they might be equipped with a topic and be assigned to web sites. By repeated iterations of these rules, our simulation appears to exhibit the observed structure of the World-Wide Web and, in particular, a power law type of growth. In order to visualise the network of web pages, we have followed N. Gilbert's (1997) methodology of scientometric simulation, assuming that web pages can be represented by points in the plane. Furthermore, the simulated graph is found to possess the property of small worlds, as it is the case with a large number of other complex networks.


2011 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Muthukumarasamy ◽  
Z Osmani ◽  
A Sharpe ◽  
R J A England

AbstractIntroduction:This study aimed to assess the quality of information available on the World Wide Web for patients undergoing thyroidectomy.Methods:The first 50 web-links generated by internet searches using the five most popular search engines and the key word ‘thyroidectomy’ were evaluated using the Lida website validation instrument (assessing accessibility, usability and reliability) and the Flesch Reading Ease Score.Results:We evaluated 103 of a possible 250 websites. Mean scores (ranges) were: Lida accessibility, 48/63 (27–59); Lida usability, 36/54 (21–50); Lida reliability, 21/51 (4–38); and Flesch Reading Ease, 43.9 (2.6–77.6).Conclusion:The quality of internet health information regarding thyroidectomy is variable. High ranking and popularity are not good indicators of website quality. Overall, none of the websites assessed achieved high Lida scores. In order to prevent the dissemination of inaccurate or commercially motivated information, we recommend independent labelling of medical information available on the World Wide Web.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1520-1525 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. V. Marriott ◽  
P. Stec ◽  
T. El-Toukhy ◽  
Y. Khalaf ◽  
P. Braude ◽  
...  

1995 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-169
Author(s):  
Jon W. Anderson

Materials of Middle East studies and not just for Middle East studies are increasingly appearing on-line. The ‘Net (Internet) that brought file archives, newsgroups and mailing lists devoted to regional issues and material has become a publishing medium in the Web (World Wide Web) with more and more of the output of Middle East studies themselves. The Bulletin now has a site, or “homepage,” on the World Wide Web at http://www.cua.edu/www/mesabul with select articles from recent issues and connections to material on the MESA Bulletin Gopher.The World Wide Web has been the breakthrough technology for making the Internet user-friendly and mainstream. WWW hides the “computery” aspects of the Internet behind snappy graphics and an easy-to-use interface that together have fostered much recent press and commercial enthusiasm over “the Net,” such as: It’s similar to what the library was 100 years ago, or the telegraph. It will be bigger and better than television. We’re not talking about a 500-channel medium. We’re talking about 250,000 channels that speak across all borders It represents who we are, how we act, transact business and engage in relationships. The Internet is about information empowerment. I think it will change world culture. (Michael Wolff in Investor’s Business Daily 21 Sep 95, p. A8)This summer, the number of commercial Internet sites passed those of educational institutions. The Internet, in a sense, has graduated.


1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-104
Author(s):  
Susan Brady

Over the past decade academic and research libraries throughout the world have taken advantage of the enormous developments in communication technology to improve services to their users. Through the Internet and the World Wide Web researchers now have convenient electronic access to library catalogs, indexes, subject bibliographies, descriptions of manuscript and archival collections, and other resources. This brief overview illustrates how libraries are facilitating performing arts research in new ways.


2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Carlo Bertot

<span>Public libraries were early adopters of Internet-based technologies and have provided public access to the Internet and computers since the early 1990s. The landscape of public-access Internet and computing was substantially different in the 1990s as the World Wide Web was only in its initial development. At that time, public libraries essentially experimented with publicaccess Internet and computer services, largely absorbing this service into existing service and resource provision without substantial consideration of the management, facilities, staffing, and other implications of public-access technology (PAT) services and resources. This article explores the implications for public libraries of the provision of PAT and seeks to look further to review issues and practices associated with PAT provision resources. While much research focuses on the amount of public access that </span><span>public libraries provide, little offers a view of the effect of public access on libraries. This article provides insights into some of the costs, issues, and challenges associated with public access and concludes with recommendations that require continued exploration.</span>


1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Inglis

A comparative study was made of the ways in which Australian universities are disseminating information about their courses over the World Wide Web. The study examined the quantity and quality of the information provided, the forms in which information is presented, and means of access to the information. The results of the survey indicated that while the majority of universities are now publishing at least some information over the World Wide Web, both the quantity and quality of information is variable. Implications for further development of institutional course information databases are discussed.


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