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Photo to a man and a woman sitting in front of computer How Canadians find health information on the Internet
 
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Let's go surfin' now

Did you know??

  • Approximately 400 million people worldwide use the Web daily
  • 75% of all Canadians have access to the Internet and 60% use the Web frequently
  • Canada has the second highest adoption rate for Internet use in the world - only Sweden has more frequent Web users at 65%
  • Albertans and British Columbians spend more time surfing the Internet than Canadians in other provinces with 65% of households regularly accessing the Internet - Ontario is very close behind at 64%
Health information on the Internet

And more and more Canadians are turning to the Internet to find the health information they need:

  • 66% of Canadians with Internet access visit Web sites offering health and medical information
  • about 41% of Internet users visit health related Web sites on a monthly basis, and a smaller group of core users (16%) frequent them on a weekly basis
  • women are more likely than men to seek health information online (76% women, 56% men)
  • looking for health care information is the leading reason for people 55 and older going online
  • the Internet is now the second most common source for Canadians to get health information, ranking ahead of radio, television, and newspapers and surpassed only by face-to-face contact with a health professional
  • when seeking health information, Canadian consumers prefer to use portal Web sites because they provide access to a wide range of information
  • the Health Canada site (where you can find a link to the Canadian Health Network) ranks consistently in the top three health information sites accessed by Canadians
  • BC residents are the Canadians most likely to look for online health information followed closely by residents of Ontario and Alberta
  • Canadian health consumers look for information about healthy lifestyles, specific diseases, and medication most often

Canadian surveys have also shown that health information on the Internet is changing the doctor-patient relationship; up to 33% of those who look for health information have asked their doctor to prescribe medication researched online, and half state that they feel information they have researched for themselves on the Internet makes them better prepared to discuss health issues and treatment options with their doctor.

And this information exchange is a two way street - in 2002, almost half of the Canadian doctors surveyed (48%) indicated they had referred patients to medical Web sites at least occasionally. Almost all of the doctors (93%) who do refer patients to Web sites are Internet users themselves.

What kind of Web sites are doctors referring their patients to? Here are some examples:

  • 77% recommend disease-specific sites
  • 31% suggest government sources
  • 21% favour consumer-focused information
  • 20% tell patients about medical association pages
  • 8% refer to commercial health sites
Credibility of health information on the Internet

But what kind of health information do Canadians find on the Internet? Is it specific to Canadians? Is it reliable, credible, timely, accurate? How do you decide if you can trust the information you find about your health on the Internet? According to recent studies, anywhere from 54% - 79% of health Web site visitors indicate that they have concerns about the credibility of health information available on the Internet.

Dr. Gunther Eysenbach, a senior scientist at the Toronto-based Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, states that over 100,000 Web sites currently exist offering health information that ranges in quality "from outright quackery to Mayo Clinic reliability." Navigating all these sites can certainly be a challenge.

Monitoring of health information on the Internet

Absolute standards for health information available on the Web have not been established, however, a number of initiatives have been created in an attempt to help health consumers and Internet surfers assess the quality of health information they find on the Internet.

The HON code is a code of conduct for medical and health Web sites. The Health on the Net Foundation accredits health-related Web sites using a self-regulatory, voluntary certification system based on a seal concept. Web sites apply for registration and then a HON team member inspects the site to make sure that all of the principles of the code, including authority, confidentiality and transparency, are followed. Sites that comply with the code display this HON code seal:

HON code

The MedCIRCLE project is funded by the European Union and composed of trusted European health subject gateways, medical associations, accreditation, certification, or rating services, which all share the common goal to evaluate, describe, or annotate health information on the World Wide Web. MedCIRCLE uses an international trustmark and a metadata scheme that allows Internet users to identify health information that has been evaluated, assessed, accredited or recommended by independent third-party individuals and organizations. The word CIRCLE in the MedCIRCLE name is an acronym, meaning "Collaboration for Internet Rating, Certification, Labeling and Evaluation of Health Information". The over arching aim of MedCIRCLE is to develop and promote technologies able to guide consumers to trustworthy health information on the Internet. Sites that have been reviewed and evaluated display this trustmark:

MedCIRCLE

A North American counterpart to MedCIRCLE is URAC. To find out more about URAC visit their Web site at http://www.urac.org/.

Internet Healthcare CoalitionThe Internet Healthcare Coalition established an international code of ethics for health care sites called the "eHealth Code of Ethics." The code defines eight guiding principles for health care information on the Web which are: candour, honesty, quality, informed consent, privacy, professionalism in online health care, responsible partnering, and accountability. The code was created in response to the growing demand from consumers and health care professionals for reliable Internet health information and services. Compliance with the code is currently voluntary.

Investigating suspicious health web sites

We don't have to rely solely on codes of conduct or stamps of approval on Web sites either. In 2002, Industry Canada's Competition Bureau investigated 25 health-related Web sites, following an international sweep that uncovered 1041 suspicious health-related sites worldwide. About 50 of the dubious sites were in Canada, with half of them identified as "potentially problematic" by Ina Spence, the leader of the Bureau's National Internet Surveillance Project. Most of the 25 Canadian sites investigated were selling longevity and weight-loss products. The Competition Bureau conducts monthly Web searches for potentially untrustworthy sites.

How the Canadian Health Network can help you find reliable health information on the Internet

As you can see there are a number of rating systems and symbols used to identify reliable and credible health information sources on the Internet, and government agencies to protect health consumers using the 'Net. But what if a site does not have one of these codes? How can you tell if it has been created or checked by an authority? What should you do? The best way to decide if a health Web site is reliable and credible is to educate yourself so you know what to look for.

The Canadian Health Network (CHN) follows a stringent quality assurance process that examines many aspects of a Web resource, including authorship, accuracy, currency, relevancy and usability. One reason to trust CHN's information is because all its resources have been scrutinized according to this specific quality criteria - and because CHN lets you know exactly what their criteria are!

To read more about CHN's quality assurance process follow this link.

Looking for similar quality assurance statements and information on other health Web sites is one way you can decide if you should trust the information you find there.

Another valuable feature of the Canadian Health Network is that it provides a checklist intended to help you decide about the quality of health information you find on any Web site. Here are some of the things you should be thinking about every time you access a health information Web site:

  • is the resource credible?
  • is the content suitable?
  • is the information relevant to you?
  • is the resource timely?
  • is there clear and adequate disclosure?
  • are there clear caution statements?
  • is the site user-friendly?

Follow this link to see all the details about assessing health information Web sites:

And most important of all - remember that any health information you find on the Internet is only that - information. It cannot replace the expert advice of your doctor or other health professional!

Sources:
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  Date published: March 15, 2003
  CreditThis article was prepared by the Vancouver Public Library.

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