Patients researching health conditions on the internet should use reputable and frequently updated websites and not see online research as a replacement for consulting healthcare professionals, according to a paper in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing by Weber et al. The authors recommend the use of the GATOR acronym, Genuine, Accurate, Trustworthy, Origin and Readability when evaluating sources of health information.
A research review carried out by a team from the University of Florida, USA, found that 86 per cent of adult patients use the internet to get answers to health-related questions, but only 28 to 41 per cent consult primary healthcare providers about the information they find out.
Educating patients to evaluate web-based health care information: the GATOR approach to healthy surfing can be found in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, vol 19, pages 1371–1377. Access the full text through CIAP or contact your librarian.
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