Some starting points Web links for health databases and information. Last spring, when University of Hawai'i nutrition lecturer Joannie Dobbs asked her nursing students to search the Internet for information, she was shocked by their classroom presentations. They could not tell the difference. The Web is full of accurate, helpful health information. The problem is that it is also cluttered with cleverly worded sites promoting everything from unproven herbal remedies for colds to dietary cures for cancer.
Health is among the most popular topics people research on the Internet.
In most cases, the information is accurate and helpful. But some Web sites contain health information that is inconsistent, incomplete, or inadvertently inaccurate. A 1997 Italian study evaluated 41 major health Web sites based on their recommendations of how parents should respond to a feverish child. The study found that only four of the 41 sites provided complete and accurate information for this common condition. Home Island Scene Online is not intended to replace the advice of health care professionals.