Increasingly, a great deal of consumers engages in health information seeking through the internet. Taken from a communication perspective evaluation for that reason argues why professionals in public health ought to be concerned about consumer health information. Over 70 000 websites today disseminate information and close to 50 million online health information seekers are likely to suffer the consequences. The internet offers pervasive access to information tailoring, health information, anonymously as well as the advantages of interactivity (Masters, 2014, p. 333). However, despite the platform laid in accessing health information, its use and access is inequitable as it is hindered by various navigation challenges such as disorganization, lack of permanence and technical language.
In my career, I have encountered many patients and it is coherent to posit that Geriatric patients are the most susceptible to health information dissemination as they are aged and face many challenges including medical issues as compared to patients in other age groups. Majority of geriatric patients has very poor eyesight and as a result they end up acquiring the wrong information from the internet. Studies show that these people don’t know how to define, differentiate and choose terminologies pretty well.
Certainly, there are a couple of strategies I could use to assist and educate patients to correctly use health information on the internet. To start with, patients should be on the lookout for unreliable websites that could easily misguide them. In order to find reliable health information from websites, patients should ask themselves the people responsible for the content and carefully check if the website is sponsored or owned by a reputable organization. Secondly they ought to look for qualifications and credentials to be specifically cautious that the people responsible for the content are unspecified. Close to that, patients ought also to look if the health information is consistent or are the websites trying to sell their services or products (McGonigle, 2012, p. 73).
Patients ought to identify their specific needs while looking for information on the internet. After identifying their medication queries, they should search for up-to-date websites on the proposed subject which can provide all the medication information on drug prescription and interpretation. It is coherent for patients overusing medical websites and misinterpreting online medical information to focus on their proposed assessment which is possible through analyzing their problems and select a single website such as the ACPM that enhances medical adherence.
References
Masters, K. (2014). Role development in professional nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2012). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
