Brief Introduction to Epidemiology XIV:
Critiquing Internet Information
Betty C. Jung RN MPH CHES
Learning/Performance Objectives
• This lecture seeks to provide you with some basic
principles of how to evaluate the information
found on the Internet with a critical eye, as most
of the data and information we use are being
retrieved from the World Wide Web.
• It also seeks to provide a rational framework with
which you can use to evaluate what you find on
the Internet, so you can determine what would be
the best sources to base your decisions upon.
Introduction
Basic definitions
Pointers on what to look for when searching
for information
International, National and Non-profit
Organizational Standards for Health
Information
Credible Internet sources for Public Health
and Healthcare Information
What is Information?
“(OMB Circular A-130) Any communication or
representation of knowledge, such as facts, data,
or opinions in any medium or form, including
textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic,
narrative, or audiovisual forms.”
Source:
• American Forces Information Service/U.S. Department of Defense
dodimagery.afis.osd.mil/dodimagery/html/definitions.html
What is Health Information?
“Information in any form (oral, written or otherwise)
that relates to the past, present or future physical
or mental health of an individual. That information
could be created or received by a health care
provider, a health plan, a public health authority,
an employer, a life insurer, a school or university
or a health care clearinghouse.”
Source:
• Partners Human Research Committee (PHRC)
healthcare.partners.org/phsirb/hipaaglos.htm
What is Health Literacy?
“The degree to which individuals have the capacity
to obtain, process, and understand basic health
information and services needed to make
appropriate health decisions.”
-- HP 2010: Health Communication
Source:
• HRSA Health Literacy Site
• http://www.hrsa.gov/quality/healthlit.htm
Questions You Should Ask
When Looking for Information on the Internet
http://www.quick.org.uk/summaryprint.htm
• 1. Is it clear who has
written the information?
• 2. Are the aims of the site
clear?
• 3. Does the site achieve
its aims?
• 4. Is the site relevant to
me?
• 5. Can the information
be checked?
• 6. When was the site
produced?
• 7. Is the information
biased in any way?
• 8. Does the site tell you
about choices open to
you?
Useful Pointers for Finding
Credible Health Information
Evaluating Internet Resources
(Children’s Hospital & Health Center, San
Diego)
• http://www.chsd.org/1327.cfm
Medical Library Association Encyclopedic Guide
to Searching and Finding Health Information
on the Web
• http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/~pfa/mlaguide/urlsubj/ss1.html
International Standards for
Health Information on the Net
NHS National Health Technology
Assessment Program [British
Government]
• http://www.hta.nhsweb.nhs.uk/
Review of Internet Health Information
Quality Initiatives [WHO,2001]
• http://www.jmir.org/2001/4/e28/
HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and
health Web sites
http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Conduct.html
1. Authority
Medically trained and qualified
professionals
2. Complementarity
Information support, not replace, the
relationship that exists between a
patient/site visitor and his/her existing
physician
3. Confidentiality
Of data relating to individual patients and
visitors, including identity, is respected
4. Attribution
Clear references to source data. Date when
page was last modified will be clearly
displayed
5. Justifiability
Any claims of benefit will be supported
by appropriate, balanced evidence
6. Transparency of authorship
Provide contact addresses and Webmaster’s
E-mail address for further information
or support
7. Transparency of sponsorship.
Support for this Web site will be clearly
identified
8. Honesty in advertising & editorial
policy
Brief description of the advertising policy,
differentiation between ad and original
material created by the institution
operating the site
National Standards for Health
Information on the Net
Healthy People 2010 – Health Communication
Objective
• http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/volum
e1/11HealthCom.htm
HP2010 Information Access Project
• http://phpartners.org/hp/
Health Literacy (HRSA)
• http://www.hrsa.gov/quality/healthlit.htm
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• http://ospp.od.nih.gov/infoquality/
Healthy People 2010
Health Communication Objective
Attributes of Effective Health Communication
•
•
•
•
•
Accuracy
Availability
Balance
Consistence
Cultural
Competence
• Evidence based
•
•
•
•
•
Reach
Reliability
Repetition
Timeliness
Understandability
Healthy People 2010
Healthy People 2010
• http://www.healthypeople.gov/
HP 2010 Initiatives & Activities
• http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hphome.htm
HP 2010 Gateway
• http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/
CDC Healthy People 2010 Data
• http://wonder.cdc.gov/data2010/
Related Healthy People 2010
Leading Indicator Sources
• http://www.healthypeople.gov/LHI/EnglishFact
Sheet.htm
State Healthy People 2010 Tool Library
• http://www.phf.org/HPtools/state.htm
Tracking Healthy People 2010
• http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/tableo
fcontents.htm#tracking
Public Health Statistics
Resources
Healthy People 2010 Leading Indicators Data
• http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/uih/uih_4.
htm
National Center for Health Statistics
• http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
HRSA – Data & Statistics
• http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/
Population Statistics Resources
National Center for Health Statistics
•
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
Racial & Ethnic Populations
•
http://www.cdc.gov/omh/Populations/populations.htm
U.S. Census
• http://www.census.gov/
State & County QuickFacts (U.S. Census)
•
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/
Federal Health Promotion
Resources
• Federal Health
Information Centers &
Clearinghouses
– http://www.health.gov
/nhic/Pubs/clearingho
uses.htm
• Health.gov
– http://www.health.gov
/
• Health Promotion and
Health Education
• http://phpartners.org/hp
ro.html
• Office of Disease
Prevention & Health
Promotion
– http://odphp.osophs.d
hhs.gov/
• Prevention
Communication
Resource Database
– http://www.health.gov
/communication/
Quality Government Health
Information for Consumers
Consumer & Patients
• http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/
MedlinePlus
• http://medlineplus.gov/
Pocket Guide to Good Health for Adults (AHRQ)
• http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/adguide/
Pocket Guide for Staying Healthy at 50+
• http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/50plus/index.html
Recalls.Gov
• http://recalls.gov/
Useful Pointers for Finding
Credible Health Information
Tips for Healthy Surfing Online
• http://www.ihealthcoalition.org/content/tips.html
Health Communication
• http://phpartners.org/hp/health_comm.html
Health Information Online (FDA)
• http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/596_info.html
Quality of Medical Information on the InterNet
• http://www.cancerindex.org/clinks18.htm
Non-profit Organizational Standards
for Health Information
Consumer Webwatch
• http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/
Health on the Net Foundation (HONCode)
• http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Conduct.html
Ihealthcoalition.org
• http://www.ihealthcoalition.org/ethics/codefoundations.html
Quackwatch.org
• http://www.quackwatch.org/
Non-profit Organizational Standards
for Health Information
Evaluation of Information Sources (WWW
Virtual Library)
• http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/evaln.h
tm
Quality of Health Information on the Internet
(IEEE USA)
• http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/POSITIONS/healthnet.ht
ml
Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility
• http://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines.html
Health Research Web sites
CenterWatch.Com
• http://www.centerwatch.com/
• Clinical Trials.Gov
• http://clinicaltrials.gov/
Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
• http://www.fda.gov/
Partners HealthCare System
• http://healthcare.partners.org/phsirb/infoforpublic.htm
Health Research Web sites
National Institutes of Health
• http://www.nih.gov/
PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
Reviews of Evidence for Treatments
• http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/content/internal/page.cf
m?ObjID=00007838-024C-1D2D-81CF83032BFA006D
Health Care Standards
Clinical Practice Guidelines (AHCPR)
• http://www.ahcpr.gov/clinic/cpgsix.htm
Health Services/Technology Assessment Text
(HSTAT) [NLM]
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat
National Guideline Clearinghouse (NCG)
• http://www.guideline.gov/
National Committee for Quality Assurance
(NCQA)
• http://www.ncqa.org/
Health Care Standards
Measuring Healthcare Quality
• http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/measurix.htm
National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
• http://www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov/
Quality Indicators
• http://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/published.htm
Quality Indicators Explained
• http://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/downloads/iqi/in
terpretative_example_iqi.ppt
Non-profit Health Promotion
Resources
American Public Health
Association’s Selected
Internet Resources for
Health Education and
Health Promotion
• http://www.apha.org/pu
blic_health/hphe.htm
EpiMonitor.Net
• http://www.epimonitor.n
et/EpiSource/index.htm
Health Promotion Planning
Resources
• http://www.thcu.ca/infoa
ndresources/planning_re
sources.htm
Partners in Information
Access for the Public
Health Workforce
• http://phpartners.org/in
dex.html
Finding Cardiovascular
Disease Information
Cardiovascular Health Partners Web Portal!
• http://www.heartandstrokepartners.org/
CDC Cardiovascular Program
• http://www.cdc.gov/cvh/
Heart Disease & Stroke Maps (CDC/CVH)
• http://www.cdc.gov/cvh/maps/index.htm
National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute
• http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/index.htm
Finding Connecticut Data
Census Demographic Files
• http://www.ct.gov/ecd/cwp/view.asp?a=1106&q=250616
Connecticut State Data Center (SDC) Program
(CT US Census Data)
• http://www.opm.state.ct.us/pdpd3/data/SDC.htm
Connecticut Data Engine (Business)
• http://www.ctdataengine.com/
Connecticut DPH Publications & Statistics
• http://www.dph.state.ct.us/Publications/publications.htm
Finding Connecticut Data
Connecticut Cancer Data
• http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/CancerBurden/ct.htm
Connecticut Cancer Incidence Data (DPH)
• http://www.dph.state.ct.us/OPPE/hptumor.htm
HRSA Geospatial Data (Maternal Child Health
Programs)
• http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/DWOnlineMap/default.
asp?stateid=7&aoistate=Connecticut&aoitype=state&st
ep=1&steptwo=yes&msadt=&statefipscd=09&zipcode=
&hhs=All%20HHS%20Regions&border=
Evaluating Your Interventions
What Is Evaluation?
Evaluation is a systematic, objective process for
determining the success of a policy or program. It
addresses questions about whether and to what extent
the program is achieving its goals and objectives.
Evaluation Models
CIPP Evaluation Model Checklist
• http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/checklists/cippchecklist.ht
m
Evaluation Models
• http://www.edtech.vt.edu/edtech/id/eval/eval_models.html
Evaluation Manual (Kellogg Foundation)
• http://www.wkkf.org/Pubs/Tools/Evaluation/Pub770.pdf
Evaluation Resources
Evaluation Made Easy
• http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs/cyfernet/cyfar/bulletin2pg.htm
Evaluation Resources on the Net
• http://www.bettycjung.net/Evaluation.htm
CDC Evaluation Working Group
• http://www.cdc.gov/eval/resources.htm
CDC Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Evaluation
Framework
• http://www.cdc.gov/cvh/library/evaluation_framework/pdfs/evaluatio
n_framework.pdf