Health information
By Kristoffer Bohmann, Bohmann Usability
Health information. A new study on health information (PDF, 305KB) examines accessibility, quality, and readability of online health information on sites such as CBS Health Watch, DrKoop.com, and WebMD. While this study doesn't address ease of use, it certainly does address the usefulness and trustworthiness of websites. The authors' ideal is clear. Information services needs to cover all key topics with accurate information written in a readable language. The study report that websites rarely deliver as expected. Our results suggest that consumers using the Internet may have a difficult time finding complete and accurate information on a health problem. In particular:
- Key consumer questions are not always covered. As a result, users cannot carry out critical tasks on some websites.
- Answers to key consumer questions are not always accurate. So, users cannot rely fully on the web services and may even become skeptical towards the services.
- Reading levels are quite high. Even high school graduates may not always be able to understand the available information.
Kristoffer Bohmann
