Free Lecture Focuses on Finding Quality Health Information Online
It’s a sign of the times. In a typical day, more than 10 million American adults search the internet for health information. But only three-quarters of these web consumers make the effort to determine whether the information they obtain online is accurate, unbiased, or up-to-date. The problem is confounded by the websites themselves, many of which do not display the source or date of the information, or other quality indicators. So what’s a web-surfer to do?
Windham Hospital’s Health Sciences Librarian, Kate Cheromcha will present a Community Wellness Forum discussion about the quality and reliability of online health information on Monday evening, March 16th at 7 in the Hospital’s Education Center. Entitled, “Should your loved one use this information?” the presentation focuses on searching out health information online, and on ways to determine the credibility and trustworthiness of online sources. “My goal,” says Cheromcha,“ is to enable people to be savvy consumers of online health information,” and she will offer suggestions for finding and evaluating health information found online. Her presentation will include a brief “tour” of the Windham Hospital website with links to good quality health information.
Ms. Cheromcha, MLIS, joined Windham Hospital as the Librarian in the Hospital’s Florence Grant Health Sciences Library in September 2008, after serving students at the University of Rhode Island’s library. As staff Librarian at Windham Hospital, she assists doctors, nurses, staff members, and the public (by special arrangement) in researching information about health topics of all sorts.
The Community Wellness Forums are free and open to the public, and are designed to be both informative and interactive, providing time for individuals to ask questions. Individuals interested in attending the forum should pre-register by contacting Marina Quarticelli at 456-6700 or mquarticelli@wcmh.org Space is limited. For more information go to www.windhamhospital.org. |