Health-related websites evaluation

Abstract

Introduction: consumers have referred to the web to learn how they can improve their health, prevent disease and learn details about specific diseases. While efforts are being made to monitor information found on the web especially with the emergence of HER: Electronic Health Record in Iran, they are not enough to cover every web site with health information. As a result, it was decided to evaluate health-related web sites in Iran. Methods: It is a cross-sectional study in which first the theoretical principles underlying health-related web sites were examined. Then a macro-model and a checklist were designed for their evaluation. The data collection instruments were validated by experts. Eight Iranian health-related systems were selected and quality audited by the researcher. Results: Findings revealed that the evaluated web sites are not of high quality compared to quality standards and this was mostly apparent in excutive health care organizations. Conclusion: comparing the results of this study with similar ones in other countries, it can be said that there are opportunities for enhancing the quality of health-related web sites in Iran. There are also some suggestions in this regard for the stakeholders. Key words: Internet; Database; Evaluation Studies; Healthcare Quality, Access and Evaluation; Health.