Finding Credible Health
Information Online

Qualities of A Credible Website

1. It has a respected publisher.

Who manages the site? Knowing the owner/publisher of the site will give you further insight on the credibility of information published there. A good site will make ownership and authorship clear. Clicking 'About Us' is a good place to start.

The web address itself can provide information about the sponsor.

• A government agency has .gov in the address.
• An educational institution has .edu in the address.
• A professional or non-profit organization will likely be identified as .org. Note that .org does not necessarily indicate current, scientifically-valid, or unbiased information.
• Most .com addresses are for-profit companies.

2. Information on the site is current and up-to-date.

The site should be updated frequently and reflect the most current information. Look for the copyright date (usually at the very bottom of the page) and/or a clearly posted latest revision date. Check links within the site, as broken links may indicate an out-of-date site.

3. The site's content is non-biased.

Information should be presented in a clear, factual manner. It should be non-biased and capable of being verified from a primary information source, such as scientific studies, peer-reviewed professional literature, links to other web pages, or other neutral references. Be skeptical of websites that contain endorsements/advertisements, or that seem to 'push' certain products.

Beware of bias. Opinions should be clearly represented as such, and the source should be identified. While blogs, chat rooms, and discussion boards can provide support to the health information seeker, these online forums often contain individual anecdotes and misinformation, and they should not serve as primary information sources.

Credible Sites for Health Information

Information found online should support, not replace, the doctor-patient relationship. Talk to your healthcare provider about what you've read online, and ask her/him any follow-up questions you may have. Start you search with these credible sites, and consider bookmarking them for future visits:

Healthfinder.gov (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Department of Health and Human Services)

MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Familydoctor.org (American Academy of Family Physicians)

MayoClinic

Cancer.gov (National Cancer Institute)

Go Ask Alice! (Columbia University)

Web MD

Focus Your Search

Entering search terms into your favorite search engine can yield thousands of results. You can prevent feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by refining your search terms. Learn how to use the advanced searching features of the sites so that you can combine terms and make your retrieval more precise. For example, entering the terms "Chlamydia" and "treatment" linked together is more powerful and precise than trying to sort through all the hits found by simply entering the term "Chlamydia."

Use a search engine that only pulls from reputable sites that have been vetted by health professionals. The National Library of Medicine's DIRLINE and Medline.gov are two such search engines. Healthfinder.gov searches for information only on government health websites.

Additional Resources

Medical Library Association, A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web

National Cancer Institute, Evaluating Health Information on the Internet

Health on the Net Foundation, HONCode certified web sites (Sites displaying the HONCode accreditation have met a basic threshold of quality and trustworthiness.)

Our Bodies, Ourselves Health Resource Center, How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet

Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine

Center for Disease Control and Prevention's list of online Health Information Sources