More than two-thirds of Canadians trust the health information they're getting online, a CBC News/Leger Marketing survey suggests.
However, a recent study done by researchers at the Department of Pediatrics at Nottingham University Hospitals in Britain casts some serious doubt on the validity of health information found online.
Their study looked into 500 websites and found only 39 per cent provided the correct information to a question about common childhood ailments. Eleven per cent gave a wrong answer and 49 per cent were unable to provide any answer.
Researchers found that government-run sites were consistently accurate in their health advice, while news sites were right only 55 per cent of the time and those that were sponsored by a product or service gave no helpful advice.
The study was published in April in the international peer-reviewed journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Still, the Patients Association of Canada -- an organization of individuals who have been treated by the health-care system -- advocates using the internet to research health information.
"Patients are much more empowered now when they come into the health-care system because of the internet," PAC president Sholom Glouberman told CBC News.
This article was originally posted here.