Searching for Health Websites

In the search for becoming a healthier you, there are seemingly endless health websites. Each website has claim after claim of “drink this ONE thing every day to be skinny” or “try these 8 weird things to lose fat over night”. Navigating through the “web ” of the internet can be difficult.

To get started, there are basic criteria that need to be met to ensure the website you’ve found is legitimate. Every legitimate site will have a “about us” section. This section should provide information on who is running the website. Reliable sources typically include government agencies, well known organizations and universities. You can identify these type of web sites by their domain suffixes, meaning what three letters com after the period. Examples of this is .edu (education), .gov (government), and . org (organization). In addition avoid web sites that make seemingly impossible health claims or quick fixes… if it seems too good to be true, then it usually is usually too good to be true. some reliable sources include:

American Heart association—————– www.heart.org

American Diabetes Association —————http://www.diabetes.org/

American Cancer Association———————http://www.cancer.org/

Refrence

Guide to Healthy Web Surfing. (2015, April 20). Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/healthywebsurfing.html.

Patient Portals

In the Age of computers there is unlimited information at your fingertips. Some of this information is about your personal health. Nearly all clinics and hospitals now provide patients with an account in which all of their personal health information can be access through the internet. This health information account is called a patient portal.

There are several benefits of having access to this information via the internet. One of the advantages is being abled to provide information in an emergency. For example, you are in the emergency room and you cannot remember the medications you take or your health history but you are able to gain access to your account and give that list to the doctor through your smart device. This scenario could greatly alter the treatment course and even save your life.

There are of course some concerns with using patient portals. The first is that of security. If someone were able to hack into your account they gain access to some very personal details about your life. Just as you would for any other account, it is important to protect your password and to avoid using public computers when accessing sensitive information. Another concern is relying solely on the patient portal for health information and having the internet go down or not having any means to access that information in a time of need.

Reference 

Guide to Healthy Web Surfing. (2015, April 20). Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/healthywebsurfing.html.

Virtual Support Groups

Many have heard or have even benefitted from support groups in which people with similar struggles sit in a room in a circle and talk about common issues. Virtual support groups offer that kind of support but on a much larger scale due to meeting over the internet. There are support groups on the internet that provide sessions in the more traditional manner of face to face through conference video chat. Much support however, comes from posting and reading comments from others who are going through a similar situation as yours. People are able to give and receive tips of how to cope, manage or endure their particular struggles, or just a place to vent out frustrations. Either way this can be a therapeutic outlet for those who need it.

As everything with the internet, there are always concerns of maintaining privacy. While using these virtual support groups it is important not to give out any information that someone might be able to use against you.

There are as many support groups as there are human struggles. As with finding a reliable health webpage, it is important to study virtual support groups before joining one. Bellow are examples of support groups that many have benefited from.

https://wwww.thebloomfoundation.org/virtual-support-groups/ This support group is to help support maternal mental health. They have subcategories of NICU moms, loss of a child, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, moms of multiples and birth trauma.

https://www.mskcc.org/experience/patient-support/counseling/support-groups-programs/virtual-programs This website offers support to both cancer patients and care givers.