Evaluating the quality of health information

Introduction

“Good quality health information is essential for greater patient involvement in healthcare. Patients and the public require information that is timely, relevant, reliable and easy to understand. This is an essential component of any strategy to promote self-care, choice, shared decision-making, medication adherence, self-management of chronic disease and health literacy.”
Assessing the quality of information, Picker Institute Europe, 2006

As information producers, we all know that quality is important.  High quality health information for patients and the public is one of the most important aspects in the development and provision of materials and services.  High quality means effective information, which meets the needs of users and which empowers them to make choices and take control of their health and well-being. The better the quality, the more useful, relevant and accessible the information is, and the more effective it will be in encouraging self care, effective long-term condition management and healthy lifestyle choices.

Information users need the reassurance of knowing who and what they can trust, producers and providers need to be sure that their work is consistently meeting high standards.  But how do information users and producers know what constitutes quality or how to recognise it when they see it?  As consumer health information has become more prolific and widespread, the need to be able to understand, recognise and measure quality has grown. It has become an important part of the work of information producers and a major issue for the public.

Although there is not one set of golden rules, agreed by all, that can be applied to every resource and development process, there are some key factors on which consensus has been reached. Some of the main ones are that information and processes should be:

•    Accurate and reliable – factually correct and consistent, produced by an individual or organisation with appropriate qualifications.
•    Accessible – a range of formats, effectively disseminated, pitched at the right level.
•    Relevant – targeted to its audience, users are involved in development and production.
•    Evidence based
•    Comprehensive – covers all aspects.
•    Current – a date of publication and review.
•    Readable – easy to read, informal, active.
•    Clear – understandable and straightforward, clear who the audience is. 
•    Balanced and non-judgemental – not favouring any particular option.
•    Transparent – in terms of authorship and sponsorship.
•    Complementary – supports the decision making process and the health professionals/patient relationship.
•    Peer reviewed - by relevant health and other professionals and by patients and the public, a robust review process.

This is not a comprehensive list and there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration, such as evaluation, dissemination and establishing the need for the information in the first place. There are also some format specific quality standards, such as good navigation and a privacy policy for websites.  However, the criteria above form the foundation of good health information and every information producer should be striving to achieve these standards.

The following pages provide top tips, key resources and tools for evaluating the quality of health information.  It's important to stress that there are literally hundreds of different approaches to this area and no 'one size fits all' solution.  However, we hope that the section will help introduce you to this important theme.

If you would like to contribute to or comment on anything in this section, please email Beki Moult, lead for the Evaluating the Quality of Health Information theme.

Page last edited: 15 July 2010