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Meet our CEO in waiting –<br />
Helen McLean<br />
Dr Google –<br />
To believe or not to believe?<br />
Liesl Murdoch, Counsellor<br />
My journey with the Society commenced on 9 August and<br />
every moment has been wonderful!<br />
I have been very warmly welcomed and my learning curve<br />
has been steep and rewarding.<br />
I come to you as the new CEO, after extensive Senior<br />
Executive careers across a number of not for profit<br />
organisations, including Guide Dogs SA&NT, Animal<br />
Welfare League, Girl Guides SA, and the Federal<br />
Government as a Director in the Fair Work Ombudsman<br />
and other departments.<br />
Throughout my professional career, I have always<br />
held a candle for the Multiple Sclerosis Society and its<br />
valuable contribution to its Clients and the South<br />
Australian community.<br />
START TIME:<br />
12.15PM SAT 11 FEBRUARY 2017<br />
FINISH TIME:<br />
12.15PM SUN 12 FEBRUARY 2017<br />
The Society has always had a very strong reputation in SA,<br />
and more recently this has been maintained by the goodwill<br />
of our interstate colleagues, and in particular, MSWA. With<br />
our disability employment service, Multiple Solutions, at our<br />
side, the Society will build on the strong foundations we<br />
have been given, looking to the future to ensure growth,<br />
opportunity and progress, which includes the provision of<br />
exceptional Client service through the NDIS.<br />
At the Multiple Sclerosis Society of SA & NT and<br />
Multiple Solutions, we do great things each and every<br />
day to help make life easier for those we support –<br />
people living with MS.<br />
Helen McLean<br />
Make a splash as The MS Mighty Swim returns in February 2017!<br />
We’d love you to join us in raising funds to support people living<br />
with multiple sclerosis in South Australia and the Northern Territory.<br />
REGISTER AT<br />
msmightyswim.com.au<br />
CALL (08) 7002 6500<br />
EMAIL events@ms.asn.au<br />
Which of you reading this article would put their hand up<br />
if asked, “Have you googled MS?” I imagine that most of<br />
you would. And you would not be alone in answering in the<br />
affirmative. In fact, recent research suggests that 8 out of<br />
10 internet users have looked online for health information<br />
and that 66% of these searches were related to a specific<br />
disease or medical problem. 1<br />
Information found on the net can be helpful. It can increase<br />
your knowledge about MS, its possible causes, current and<br />
future drug treatments and help with symptom control and<br />
management. This new found knowledge can also improve<br />
your communication with health professionals, assist you to<br />
make better, more informed decisions regarding your care<br />
and provide you with a sense of control and mastery over<br />
this often unpredictable illness. However, access to this<br />
digital library is not without its pitfalls.<br />
Entering ‘multiple sclerosis’ into the google search engine<br />
will, in 0.41 seconds, produce a staggering 21,200,000<br />
results! But are all these entries verified and accurate?<br />
Regrettably not, for much of what is on the net is unverified,<br />
inaccurate and often contradictory. It is an urban myth that<br />
all that is written on the web has its foundations in honesty<br />
and integrity.<br />
So how does one decide what is reputable? This can be<br />
done by following a few simple guidelines.<br />
Visit reputable websites<br />
Sites ending in edu.au, gov.au and org.au will take you to<br />
dependable Australian websites e.g. mswa.org.au<br />
• edu – pertains to an educational site such as a university<br />
• gov – government bodies<br />
• org – prominent health organisation<br />
American sites: use the above but drop off the ‘au’<br />
UK sites: replace ‘au’ with ‘uk’.<br />
Look at the credentials of the author<br />
• Articles written by people who are specialists in their fields<br />
will post their qualifications and usually supply an address<br />
for correspondence.<br />
• Thorough academic research is usually undertaken by<br />
a team of researchers so multiple authors suggest the<br />
information may be of greater quality and reliability.<br />
• ‘Testimonials’ may give a personal edge to a story but one<br />
person’s experience cannot be broadly applied across a<br />
greater population.<br />
Look at the date of publication<br />
• It’s hard to believe but the internet has been around for<br />
over 20 years so the more recent the date of publication<br />
the better.<br />
Look at what type of language is being used<br />
• Academic information is often presented using formal/<br />
scholarly language.<br />
• Simplified language and sweeping generalisations or<br />
claims can infer a lack of accurate and plausible research<br />
and information.<br />
Does the site feature online/interactive<br />
‘click on here’ ads?<br />
• Often, less reputable sites have ads which make<br />
unreasonable promises. e.g. “lose 10 kg in 10 days”.<br />
Such ads would suggest the accuracy of featured<br />
information may also be as improbable.<br />
• Ads also suggest the web page would not be in existence<br />
without them. Reputable sources have large organisations<br />
and corporations funding their websites.<br />
Avoid sites that require payment for information<br />
Payment for information implies that someone is trying to<br />
make money from the site and their motives in sharing their<br />
information may be less than noble.<br />
Navigating the web for solid and accurate information<br />
can be a daunting task but it can be done. By using these<br />
guidelines, you can increase the integrity of the information<br />
you are reading. The main thing to remember is to be<br />
selective in what you browse through and take on board.<br />
Dr Google should be seen as a complementary tool to your<br />
MS management and not the principal source of information<br />
and understanding about MS. The internet can assist you<br />
but it cannot be an adequate substitute for the knowledge<br />
and clinical guidance provided by your doctor and other<br />
health professionals involved in your care.<br />
Don’t forget the MSSANT Client Services Team can<br />
help source trusted articles, links and verify<br />
information for you. Contact MS Assist on 1800 812 311<br />
or msassist@ms.asn.au<br />
1<br />
www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media//Files/Reports/2011/PIP_Health_Topics.pdf<br />
6 <strong>Spring</strong> 20<strong>16</strong> The MS Society of South Australia & Northern Territory The MS Society of South Australia & Northern Territory <strong>Spring</strong> 20<strong>16</strong> 7