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ASU, UA librarians compile list of top consumer health Web sites

Among the best are MedlinePlus and healthfinder, two federally run sites, and FamilyDoctor.org

Librarians from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona have compiled a list of the top 10 consumer health Web sites, according to criteria set by the Medical Library Association. Among the best are MedlinePlus and healthfinder, two federally run sites, and FamilyDoctor.org, run by the American Academy of Family Physicians, according to Jacqueline Donaldson Doyle, head of the Health Sciences Library at the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with ASU, and Kathleen Carlson, health sciences librarian at ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. The criteria, according to the Medical Library Association, for selecting top sites for consumers includes being authoritative, having attribution, being current and disclosing financial backing. The association also checks the sites’ advertising policies. The HON, or Health on the Net, Web site helps you find the most reliable information and uses that checklist in giving its stamp of approval. There is even a Web site to help consumers evaluate health sites. Doyle and Carlson also noted two of the best places to start for information in Arizona: AZ Health Info and Arizona Go Local.

The top 10 consumer health Web sites, as compiled by ASU and UA librarians (In alphabetical order):

Cancer.gov

CDC.gov

FamilyDoctor.org

healthfinder.gov

MayoClinic.com

MedlinePlus

NOAH

HIVInSite

KidsHealth

MEDEM