This is the second chapter of the book Strategies to Fight Online Health Misinformation: Health Information Quality Assurance, Digital Literacy and Fact-Checking. It analyzes the role that the countless health information available, accessible, and shared in digital media plays in the formation of the “expert patient” and in the doctor–patient relationship. It highlights the problem of disinformation in health and analyzes different alternatives to face it, among which stands out DISCERN—a tool created at Oxford University. It presents the historical process of building our methodological proposal for evaluating the quality of health information on the Internet. It proposes that the indicators for evaluating the accuracy of scientific information be obtained in “summaries synthesized for clinical reference” such as DynaMed and not through “expert consensus.” It evaluates the cases of scientific information on tuberculosis and leishmaniasis on websites, either public or of public interest, from different regions of the world. The results give evidence that some information available in these virtual environments is incorrect, outdated, or non-existent. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. It proposes that these institutions be committed to offering quality health information to all citizens. This is one way to encourage “expert patient” training, fight misinformation, and promote life.

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Good Quality Health Information on the Internet: An Alternative to Combat Misinformation

  • André Pereira Neto

摘要

This is the second chapter of the book Strategies to Fight Online Health Misinformation: Health Information Quality Assurance, Digital Literacy and Fact-Checking. It analyzes the role that the countless health information available, accessible, and shared in digital media plays in the formation of the “expert patient” and in the doctor–patient relationship. It highlights the problem of disinformation in health and analyzes different alternatives to face it, among which stands out DISCERN—a tool created at Oxford University. It presents the historical process of building our methodological proposal for evaluating the quality of health information on the Internet. It proposes that the indicators for evaluating the accuracy of scientific information be obtained in “summaries synthesized for clinical reference” such as DynaMed and not through “expert consensus.” It evaluates the cases of scientific information on tuberculosis and leishmaniasis on websites, either public or of public interest, from different regions of the world. The results give evidence that some information available in these virtual environments is incorrect, outdated, or non-existent. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. It proposes that these institutions be committed to offering quality health information to all citizens. This is one way to encourage “expert patient” training, fight misinformation, and promote life.