Judge: web sites for health - consumer guidelines - how to judge

	2.0 How to judge:

		2.1 Trust and reputation 2.2 Who produced the site 2.3 Purpose of the site 2.4 Funding sources 2.5 Date 2.6 How the information is written 2.7 Descriptions of conditions and treatments 2.8 Medical research 2.9 Personal experiences 2.10 Foreign sites 2.11 Communication 2.12 Links 2.13 Disclaimers 2.14 Kitemarks 2.15 Design 2.16 Interactive facilities 2.17 Other quality guidelines

2.8 Medical research

The medical research literature is very complex. You would need specialised knowledge of the subject, the scientific methods used and the terminology to be able to understand it fully.

The nature and strength of science is in debate. Scientists test and challenge each others' work until they reach agreement. This approach is very powerful at building up knowledge and understanding. However, it is not helpful or comfortable for the health consumer looking for certainty, for example:

a piece of work can be out of date, overtaken by further research;

experts can have different opinions about the research;

professional advice can vary between different countries;

some researchers' ideas can be at odds with the usual opinion.

Many support groups use medical advisers to check the medical information they provide.

Some support groups cover research on their Web sites or through their newsletters.

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© Copyright for this site is held by Contact a Family and the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, Northumbria University. Site published February 2003. Last updated September 2008. Review date September 2009.