by Wayne Ruple news@cleburennews.com The Cleburne News

Photo: Special to The Cleburne News

And how does an American population in which half cannot read or write very well, even understand how to read simple directions on how to take their medicines and understand treatments within a highly complicated and very fragmented health care system?

To help guide and make recommendations, Kathy Hogan Smith, founder/director of the Health Infonet of Alabama spoke during a recent meeting of the Nutrition and Health Council of Cleburne County.

Smith recommends several questions to ask when evaluating online health information including checking out the provider of the information who is in charge of the web site? Why are they providing the site and can you contact them?

Just because a website looks authoritative does not mean that it is, she said. What is their hidden agenda and how current is their information? She recommends asking.

Also look at the funding. Where does the money to support the site come from and does the site have advertisements? Are they labeled?

Quality is a major factor, Smith said. Net surfers need to ask where does the information on the site from from? How is content selected? Do experts review the information that goes on the site? Does the site avoid unbelievable or emotional claims and is it up-to-date?

Smith also recommends asking if the site asks for personal information, do they tell you how it will be used and are the comfortable with how it will be used.?

Speaking before the council, Smith also provided a number of handouts including three pages of web resources including a number of general sites, health search engines, evaluation of health websites, websites dealing with wellness and nutrition, sites dealing with talking to your doctor, sites to help make informed health care decisions, patient safety, directories to help choose a physician and/or hospital, rating physicians, electronic medical records and personal health records information and overall health sites.

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Nutrition and Health Council hear of Health Infonet