The Information Book Edition 3 - Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service

3. Qualifications of editorial staff – many resources are run by peoplewho are not qualified to provide medical advice. There is nothing wrongwith this, provided that it is clearly stated. However we feel that the bestinformation, in general, is provided by health care professionals who arehealth care providers themselves. Much of what physicians, nurses andother professionals do involves interacting with patients and providinginformation in the clearest, most appropriate manner4. Freshness of content – sites with regularly updated content are likelyto be ones which are best managed. Beware of sites where nothingchanges!5. Disclosure of conflicts of interest – conflicts of interest should eitherbe obvious or clearly disclosed6. Price of information – So far, very few medical web resources arecharging for information. While this may change in the future, we believethat open access to information with minimal fees should be the rule. If youare being charged for the information, make sure it is not information othersare providing for free7. Confidentiality – most medical web resources will not respond to directmedical inquiries by users. This is, in part, due to concerns over patientconfidentiality, accuracy of information either sent from or to the patient.It is important to make sure sites which require registration are notreleasing contact data without permission8. Reputation – Resources run by reputable institutions are more likelyto provide timely, accurate, and unbiased information9. Look and feel – Resources must be attractive and able to provide thebest possible information to users. Content rich in graphics is attractive,but if it is poorly organised, or if it takes a long time to download, it maynot be serving its primary purpose10. Navigation and searching – make sure the site is well organised, easyto navigate and has a good search engine.The domain name can give you an idea of the type of website. Sites that haveaddresses with .org .edu or .gov are often better than commercial sites thathave .com in the address.Some web sites that families find useful are:www.rch.org.au / cccThe web site for the RCH Children’s Cancer Centre.Sec.7.2 Information resourcesUpdated July 2012