Validating the Credibility of Websites

 

Blog Topic: Your neighbor has just been diagnosed with Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). He has a lot of questions regarding the disease and treatment options. He has gone to the following websites (see below) to do some research and now has come to you to ask for your educated opinion. Compare and contrast these sites in regard to the validity and reliability of their information. What credible resources might you advise your neighbor to review? How can you validate the credibly of a website?

www.wikipedia.org

www.webmd.com

www.cdc.gov

 

According to McGonigle & Mastrian (2015) “clinicians should be cautious when recommending websites to patients and families, because not all sites are reliable or valid” (p. 295). It is important for the clinician to know how to identify websites that are credible and to recommend websites that can meet the learning needs of the patient. One such resource that is used to identify credible websites for health information is the Health on the Net (HON), which was created as a platform to distribute quality health information to patients, healthcare providers and the public as well as provide access to the most up to date medical data via the internet (HONcode, 2015).

Comparing and Contrasting Websites

In comparing and contrasting between Wikipedia, WebMD, and the CDC, Wikipedia- is a free encyclopedia that can offer valuable and accurate information, but does not guarantee that the content presented has been reviewed by experts and it cannot guarantee the validity of the information. Wikipedia doesn’t offer any formal peer review of the content, nor does it provide professional advice (Wikipedia, 2015).  WebMD on the other hand, is certified by Honcode, is Urac accredited, and the privacy of information is certified by Truste.  WebMD provides credible, original and timely health information content by well know providers. The contributors to the site are board-certified physicians, award-winning journalists, and trained community moderators. The qualifications of all medical professionals on the site are verified; including health professionals, experts, editorial professionals and contributors with a specialty license (WebMD, 2015). The CDC is a website that offers information that increases the health security of our nation by putting science into action and by providing health information that will protect us against unnecessary and dangerous health threats (CDC, 2014).

Credible Resources

Some common domains used for websites are .edu - education sites, .gov - government sites, .org - organization sites, .com - commercial sites, and .net - network infrastructures (Montecino, 1998).  In recommending a credible website for the neighbor to use to research his condition, I would recommend using government sites that use the domain .gov, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ health finder site (www.healthfinder.gov), the National Institutes of Health (http://www.nih.gov) and Medline Plus (www.medlineplus.gov) (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015, p. 296).

Validating Websites

To validate whether the website is credible, I would direct him to examine the web domain or URL address, and to look for the credentials of the author or organization. According to Lane (2010) “the author or organization should be clearly displayed on the website. If the credentials are missing, consider this a red flag” (p. 12). I would also direct him to determine if the website has been updated regularly and to determine what the websites intent is, such as, is it to inform, instruct, or is it to persuade and does it have advertisements (Lane, 2010, p. 13). Many websites that are considered reliable will have a seal of certification from a trusted accrediting organization such as the Health on the Net Foundation (HON). This seal of certification verifies the websites transparency of information regarding the authority, authorship, confidentiality, funding, and that it is up-to date, and honest about advertising and provides a clear distinction between advertisement and editorial content (HONcode, 2015). Doing these things can help in determining the quality of the information presented as well as help to ensure that the information is credible.  

 

References

About us: What we do for our users. (2015). Retrieved from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/about-webmd-policies/about-what-we-do-for-our-users

General disclaimer. (2015). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer

HONcode. (2015). Retrieved from Health on the net foundation: http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Patients/Visitor/visitor.html

Lane, R. V. (2010). Stop! Evaluate website before use. Dental Assistant, 79(4), 12-45.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Mission, Role, and Pledge. (2014). Retrieved from Centers for disease control and prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/about/organization/mission.htm

Montecino, V. (1998). Guidelines for critiquing www resources. Retrieved from Education & Technology Resources: http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm