Custom «How Would You Find Health Information Online» Essay Paper Sample

1. Basic information about the condition that you chose to use for this paper

There are thousands of internet related health websites with reliable and non reliable information. The information on the sites may be current old, choosing the website to trust is therefore worth thinking about.

1. How did you start? What resources did you find?

Like anybody else, the information required is searched using any search engine. I wanted to find information on ways and means by which we can maintain heart function by knowing heart diseases. There is a lot of formation on the internet about heart and vascular diseases. Most of the information is posted everyday but not all are true. Other sites do not give precise information since you are required to click many pages before the information required is arrived at. For precise information, I looked at government, educational and organization sites. The government site has home page that shows all features of the website. It has the name of the sponsor on the front page and on every page opened.

1. How do you decide which are valid and which are not?

As a rule, I know that any Federal Government sponsored health website is a good source of helpful health information. A commonly known U.S. health site is arrived at by visiting www.usa.gov. Apart from government sponsored sites, large professional organizations and known medical schools are also good sources of health information.

1. After watching the TED video on how Internet search information is displayed, how do you think this would impact your search?

After watching TED video, one is able to filter through information through filter bubbles. We are able to find meaningful information as we focus on the disease. The internet has information on how we can control heart problems and vascular diseases. It provides great inspiration with helpful resources that promote creativity. Sites with good information have few and at least no other links that may distract you from getting the information required.

1. Provide the link to information that you feel is excellent. Describe why you thought it was good information.

The information on the site http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/index.htm is excellent because it has the purpose for its creating. It has the site developer and one who maintains the information. The site has no apparent conflict or bias. It has author’s qualifications and contact details such as email, postal details and phone numbers. The site encourages feedback and interaction with a reputable publisher. The subject coverage is complete and in-depth since it indicates the causes, how to prevent it, how to recognize the disease, how it is diagnosed, procedures/ treatments and after care with quality of life issues that is associated with heart disease. Finally, the information is up-to-date since every post is dated. The site is also easy to use.

1. Provide the link to information that you thought was poor. Describe why you thought it was poor.

MedicineNet.com site found in http://www.medicinenet.com/vascular_disease/article.htm was not good enough for my research on The Heart and Vascular Disease because it gives few details of the information I needed. The site has several other information and pictures that distract the eyes from the information required.

1. In your research, what is your opinion of the “readability” of the material you found?

The content is easy to find and understand. It helped me to discover and learn new things that changed my perspective and influenced my choice of information. The subject coverage is complete and in-depth since it indicates the causes, how to prevent it, how to recognize the disease, how it is diagnosed, procedures/ treatments and after care with quality of life issues that is associated with heart disease.

1. Once you had this information (if you had this health condition), what would you do with it?

I will be able to check my diet while taking proper medication to help me control the heart disease. It was a good idea to find the information because I am now able to recognize the disease, how it is diagnosed, procedures/ treatments and after care with quality of life issues that is associated with heart disease. Having health information online is a good idea because one is able to know and trace the kind of disease they have and at what stage the disease is currently at.