Evaluating Online Alzheimer’s Resources Finding Credible Information

Patients and their families will search for information about healthcare from various different sources. As a professional nurse, there is need to provide them with credible and relevant sources of information on healthcare so as to improve the quality of care and make it more cost effective (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015). With the advent of technology and the internet sharing of information becoming extremely easy, it is difficult to differentiate the right and wrong from all the different sources of information. This paper explains the steps taken in identifying alz.org as a source of knowledge to improve the lives of patients. The guidelines to assure the quality of the information on the site are from the Health on Net foundation. The site claims to be the top voluntary health organization in the care, research, and support for Alzheimer’s disease.

Information Should Be Authoritative

The credibility of information offered on a site is incredibly important especially so for sites on healthcare. Alz.org clearly shows the author of the various articles and their training in the medical field which can be easily viewed in the tab labeled professionals on the site home page. On the site, it shows members of its advisory council which is responsible for “the task of ensuring scientific accuracy in the association’s materials for public education on the disease” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2018). It also clearly shows their full names, training, associated medical institution, and department such as their chair, David Knopman, M.D. Mayo Clinic, Department of Neurology. At the bottom of the site, it is clearly shown that the site is maintained by the Alzheimer’s Association. Through these measures, the site achieves the set quality standards.

Purpose of the Website

The main purpose of the site can be clearly seen throughout the pages of the site and can be highlighted by their mission and vision in their “about us” page which outlines that their goal is to achieve a world without Alzheimer’s disease through research and advocate for brain health to reduce the risk of suffering from dementia. The site provides online support and has a 24-hour helpline for people who are suffering from the disease but they are only limited to the United States, which is the site’s country of origin. A disclaimer that the site only provides general information and doesn’t take the place of professional medical advice is given in the section “about this site”.

Confidentiality

“Every site should ensure the protection of the user’s personal data such as names, email address, phone number and mailing address from improper use” (HON, 2009), and this site achieves the set quality standards. Alz.org clearly shows the types of information that it collects from the user, both knowingly and unknowingly when one joins the site, applies for a membership, during the donation of funds, registration to site activities, access and use of the site. This information is mainly used to improve the user experience. The site clearly states the use of automatically collected information from cookies, unique identifiers, log file information and public information collected from public sources by the site and its commitment to protect it. The sharing of information with third parties like; site personnel, service providers, during the site business transactions and lawful requests is also addressed and the site provides assurance to intervene and represent the user to ensure the protection of personal data. It also clearly shows the user’s rights and choices in the handling of his personal data and right to deny access to certain data.

Contact Information

The site achieves the set standard in quality as related to contact information. It is relatively easy to get the contact information for this site which is important in getting feedback and for queries from the user. Every page of the site has the mailing address and contact number for the site at the bottom. There is also a “contact us” option which redirects you to a page that has all the relevant contact information clearly shown and well organized. This option is available on every page generated by the site and is highlighted by a different color from the one used in the publication.

Funds

The sites main source of income is from donations, partners, and sponsors. All information pertaining to the site’s finances are transparent and can be easily accessed from the tab “join the cause” which is clearly visible on the home page of the site. The donation, alternative ways to give, information on the sponsors and fundraising activities are clearly shown. Any user can easily access, view and download the full financial statements of the organization from the donations page. This helps boost public confidence and shows transparency and ethics in the running of the site. This also follows the guides set to assure the quality of the site.

Advertising Policy

Alz.org has advertisements which are clearly shown and differentiated from the content in the site. They only relate to the site’s goals and no pop-up or irrelevant third-party advertisements are shown on the site and therefore the site does not get any funds through advertisement. However, all across the site are prompts that urge the user to donate and support the cause against Alzheimer’s disease but they can be clearly distinguished from the main content of the site. And so, the site conforms to the set quality standards by HON foundation.

Justification of Claims

So as to meet HON standards of quality, sites are required to bring forth evidence of the effects of the treatment methods and various products stated on the site. Alz.org has a supporting site that is dedicated to the research of Alzheimer’s disease. The site has tabs that cover the science, progress clinical trials, collaborations and current advances in the field of Alzheimer’s treatment. All cited claims are clearly backed with scientific evidence and information on the benefits, effects, and performance. The various research materials and content from the site are protected by the copyright laws of the site.

References and Dates

According to the standards of quality set by HON, all the content in the site should have a date of creation and last modification. The site has the date of publication and modification on the articles and research materials that appear it also gives us the author of the various articles. It, however, does not provide any form of bibliography on any of its articles or have a separate page with a compilation of the various references used in the site.

Site Design

The presentation of information on the site is consistent and has a pleasant presentation. Key points such as the contact details, articles and research materials and their related topics are clearly summarized in a taskbar at the top of the site making the access to information relatively easy. There is also the provision of buttons at the top of every page which can easily change the text size easily, making it convenient for the various users to use. There is a search bar at the top of the page which can be used to look for information on the entire site.

Conclusion

Alz.org is a site that I would recommend to my patients as a good source of information not only on the basis of Alzheimer’s but as a source of emergency numbers and support groups. It follows the guidelines assuring the quality of sites according to HON foundation. This site can not only be used by patients, but I can recommend it for the sake of raising awareness on the disease. However, users would feel more assured if the sources of information would be clearly shown.