Care and support

Guide to medical information on web sites

A quick guide for parents scanning the internet in search of medical information has been produced by Contact a Family.

The guide is intended to help parents judge whether a site is reliable and to eliminate anything misleading or sensationalist.

Produced primarily for the parents of children with a disability, the leaflet, entitled Finding Medical Information on the Internet, makes points that apply to anyone using the internet to research a medical condition.

The guide recommends that parents ask themselves a number of questions before relying on a site, for instance:

• Who produced the website? Is it a well-respected, independent organisation, or is it there to sell a product?
• Who is the website for? If it is for academics, the information can be complex and confusing.
• How reliable is the information? Is it up-to-date? Or is it unrepresentative – based only on one person’s experience?

Concerns from paediatricians and support groups that some parents were getting the wrong information from the web or were spending large sums of money on unnecessary treatments prompted the leaflet to be produced.

The guide also provides tips on how to use support group websites, advising parents to remember that one condition can affect various children differently. In addition it contains a list of useful websites.

For a copy of the guide please contact:
Contact a Family
209-211 City Road, London EC1V 1JN
Free Helpline: 0808 808 3555 (Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm). Minicom: 020 7608 8702.
Email: helpline@cafamily.org.uk
or visit the Contact a Family website by going to the link on this page and navigating to the 'medical information' section.