1. A guide for the novice searcher
Latrina Keith, MLS

2. There’s a tremendous amount of health
information on the Internet, but …
Where do you search?
How do you search?
How do you decide if what you found
is good, quality information?

3. Where do you search?
Use a search engine (e.g. Google,
Ask.com, Yahoo)
Use reliable consumer health Web
sites (e.g. MEDLINEplus, NOAH: New
York Online Access to Health)

4. How do you search?
 Think and decide what your search topic will
be
 Think about using different key words with
similar meanings when searching (e.g.
women, females)
 Use quotes with search phrases to narrow
search results (e.g. “breast cancer”)
 Click on the “HELP” section of the search
engine for more information

5. What to look for in a Web page to
determine what is quality information?
 Who wrote it? Look for the author and/or
organization sponsoring the page
 Where is the author/organization located?
Look for a mailing address, phone number, or
e-mail address (contact information is usually
found at the bottom of the page)
 When was the page last updated? Check for
the date the Web page was last modified (this
is usually found at the bottom of the page)

6. Examples of good sources of
reliable health information
Government Resources
MEDLINEplus
http://medlineplus.gov
NYC Children with Special Health Care Needs
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/phc/phc.html
PubMed
http://www.pubmed.gov

7. Non-profit organizations
KidsHealth
http://www.kidshealth.org
American Academy of Family Physicians
http://familydoctor.org
American Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.org

8. Libraries and other educational
institutions
The New York Academy of Medicine Library
http://www.nyam.org/library
The New York Public Library
http://www.nypl.org
Brooklyn Public Library
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
Queens Borough Public Library
http://www.queenslibrary.org

9. To Conclude
This is only a sample of the many health
information resources available on the
Internet. While consumers have access
to information which can educate them
on proper health care, it is never a
substitute for consultation and diagnosis
by a qualified physician.

10. Questions?
Contact: Latrina Keith
e-mail: lkeith@nyam.org

11. Thank You