About Online Health Information
HealthInfoIowa is a quality-filtered website sponsored by the State Library of Iowa.
Resources available from HealthInfoIowa have been designed to meet the diverse needs of people in Iowa:
- Healthcare consumers
- Healthcare providers
- County extension personnel
- Public health workers
- Librarians
- Others responsible for providing health information to the public
You can use HealthInfoIowa to find:
- Health information resources located in Iowa
General health information
Tips on tracking down, obtaining, and evaluating online health information
Resources for healthcare providers and professionals
Resources for librarians
Resources for students
- locate printed information from national, state, regional, and local resources; and,
- connect with people—agencies, organizations, and services in Iowa that can help meet your health information needs.
Keep in mind that the quality of health information found over the Web varies. What you find may be:
- authoritative and trustworthy, based on solid medical evidence;
- earnest, heartfelt, but dangerous advice from well-intentioned people; or,
- lies and exaggerations created by people who want to sell products.
If you have personal health concerns, information found over the Web may be educational. But it cannot substitute for medical advice from a licensed healthcare provider who knows you, your medical history, and your medications. HealthInfoIowa's disclaimer should be considered when using information on our site:
HealthInfoIowa is designed as an education resource for Iowa residents. We do not endorse and are not responsible for information found at sites to which we link. Please consult your personal physician or other healthcare professional for issues related to your own health.
For ideas on making good use of information you find, see:
- Communicating with Your Doctor
- Making the Most of an Office Visit
- Sharing Online Information with Your Healthcare Provider
- Talking with Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People
- Tips for Talking to Your Doctor
- Dictionary of Common Medical Terms
- Next Step After Your Diagnosis: Finding Information and Support
Evaluating online health information
Resources listed on the HealthInfoIowa website have been evaluated using principles created by the Health on the Net (HON) Foundation, an international non-profit group that promotes effective, reliable health information on the Web.
Once you click beyond HealthInfoIowa, you move into uncharted territory. HealthInfoIowa does not control the information on other sites. You can do your own test for reliability and credibility by using the Health on the Net Site-Checker, a short, interactive questionnaire.
Other useful evaluation tools:
- Discern Online: Quality Criteria for Consumer Health Information
- MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing
- Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
- Evaluation of Information Services
- A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web
- Quackwatch: Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions
- How to Spot Health Fraud
- Buying Prescription Medicines Online: A Consumer Safety Guide
Guarding your privacy Some websites collect information about you:
- Be cautious!
- Look for a privacy statement spelling out the type of information that might be collected during your visit to that website and how it will be used (see the HealthInfoIowa privacy statement).
- Read TRUSTe's Privacy Protection Guidelines
Click on "tutorials" below for additional information on evaluating and locating reliable health information.
Tutorials
Click here for tutorials
Please give us your comments
Please send comments about our Web site to Pam Rees, State Medical Librarian at the State Library of Iowa. Click here
to contact Pam.
