Designing and Using a Consumer Health Web Page

Abstract

Studies show that people of all ages rely on the Internet for health information and advice. There is an enormous amount of health information, and too much of it is of dubious quality. It is important for consumers to have ready access to high-quality health information and to be equipped with the knowledge to evaluate consumer health Web sites as they “surf the Web. Many people also turn to the local academic medical library or to the public library for health information. Public librarians, who may not be comfortable guiding patrons to Web health information, can benefit from knowing about gateway sites and high-quality general health sites, as well as learning the tools for site evaluation.