Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay

The  internet has a huge amount of information from where to get the best prices or deal to videos of people lighting their hair on fire to health information. How can we tell which information is the best and what should we recommend to our patients to use? The website that I use the most is the Mayo Clinic.  Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay.I examined the site for accuracy, credibility, relevance, usability, currency and cost. Mayo Clinic

Relevance of Website Mayo Clinic is relevant to nursing informatics because their mission is to empower people to manage their health by providing useful and up-to-date information (MayoClinic, 2011). The site contains information not only for the public but for health professionals as well. It contains information on diseases and conditions, symptoms, drugs and supplements, tests and procedures, healthy lifestyles, and first aid. Description of Criteria

In analyzing MayoClinic I used the criteria of the website for accuracy, credibility, relevance, usability, and financial cost. Focusing on criteria will allow me to determine and get research about the website that is valuable to me and the patients I recommend to the site.Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay.  Breaking down the site was very easy the site is up to date, accurate, and has credentials. The site is easy to use and free to the public. Accuracy

They provide up-to-date information the medical editors work on a daily basis with Web content producers and editors to ensure that all content is accurate, clear and relevant (MayoClinic, 2011). The articles contain dates when it was published and posted dates for when it was edited as well. The articles on Mayo clinic are reviewed but don’t show specific authors but do have resources listed to show where the information came from. Although the authors are not on the individual articles the authors are individually listed with their qualifications on the website. The Mayo Clinic also has a correction policy to ensure accuracy of the information on the website they will change confusing, misleading information to make it accurate. Scheduled update for original content happen every two years but all information is updates as soon as possible if they identify significant changes or advanced (MayoClinic, 2011). Credibility

The Mayo Clinic has many accreditation and awards. Mayo Clinic complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information. Health on the Net Foundation (HON) promotes and guides the deployment of useful and reliable online health information, and its appropriate and efficient use (HONcode). They also support the Consumer Reports WebWatch guidelines to promote credible information practices on the web (MayoClinic, 2011). Appearance and Usability

Mayo Clinic is very user friendly. The home page is set up to where you can find the subject you are looking for such as disease, symptoms, drugs, test, and healthy living. After clicking on of the following you can then search by the first letter of what you are trying to find and the website will come up with a list. The homepage also has a link to the symptom checker so you can see symptoms and causes for the certain symptoms. Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay. The website home page has a convenient search bar where you search for terms as well rather than looking them up. The interface is very easy to use and navigate through the articles as well. The articles are separated out into different sections so you don’t have to read the whole thing if you just want to know something specific such as when to see a doctor or relief measures. Currency

The Mayo Clinic focuses on timeliness they strive to offer context and perspective on current events but do not compete to be the first and focus more on depth and perspective. On the homepage they have a section for new and updated information so you can get the current information that is available. The website is kept up-to-date by the medical experts and the web team and contains current links to websites and resources. Financial Cost

Access to Mayo Clinic is free to the public. The web page does contain advertisements on one side of the page, these advertisements and sponsorships are allowed under strict guidelines. Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay. The Mayo Clinic refuses to put any advertisements on their page that are incompatible with their mission to empower the people to take care of their health (MayoClinic, 2011). The Mayo clinic doesn’t support or endorse any of the ads on their page and maintains a distinct separation between advertisements and editorial content.

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Conclusion

Overall Mayo Clinic is a very useful and efficient website to use for both consumers and professionals for information on health. The website is highly accurate and credible. The web page is easy enough to use and navigate that it wouldn’t take much knowledge of computers to be able to find and use the information on the pages. The site is kept current my medical experts and is very up-to-date. The only problem that I had with the site is that the articles don’t have to original authors on them. If the site had the original authors and the name of who was doing the editing if it was done then it would be more credible. I like to know where my information comes from which the site does by citing their outside sources. I would recommend this site to patients, friends and family it is a good way to become educated on common health problems, medications, first aid and healthy living.

The analysis was done in pairs, of healthy and preeclamptic placentas and by gestatational stage. In accordance with the standards set by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists the placentas were grouped as “normal,” “mild preeclampsia” and “severe preeclampsia,” on the basis of recorded blood pressure of their mothers. There were certain well defined controls and parameters also placed like making sure those patients with diabetic and other disease histories that might affect blood pressure were not included in the experiment, the purpose was to study the causative agent of preeclampsia alone. Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay.The records showed that the significant amount of HtrA1 is present in the placental tissues of women with severe preeclampsia. In the light of this latest discovery it is hoped that this might lead to some sort of predictive test, which hitherto before did not exist for the early determination of preeclampsia. It is expected that this test will serve as early warning sign of preeclampsia and would permit the medical professionals to cope with the disease on non-crisis basis and possibly divert the situation in which the threat is posed to the life of mother and fetus, by governing more cautious approach entailing therapies and other procedures that might altogether stop it from materializing. In keeping with the same premise that HtrA1 protein is linked with preeclampsia the next thing that needs to be determined is how exactly the whole mechanism is brought about, the possibility explained in this regard is also open to criticism and improvement. According to this because of their similar molecular structure as insulin-like growth factors (IGF) binding proteins, the HtrA1 protein fits in the placental sites and adversely affects the activities of cytotrophoblasts and thus leads to the defective placenta and fetus abnormality. Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay.

Even though this research is very insightful and interesting but it still lacks credentials to be reckoned as the groundbreaking or revolutionary because despite locating the protein this study is still not yet able to explain satisfactorily the pathway followed by protein to initiate the setting in of the disease. So until and unless the mechanism is known Preeclampsia remains elusive as ever. According to researchers at Mayo clinic the next area of study will target the protein’s mechanism of bringing about the disease. Until then no predictive test can be devised for sure.Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay.  The best prevention and control at present is to keep the patient under close supervision of the doctor or midwife because when detected earlier it’s relatively easier to manage and many complications of the later stage can be avoided.

Reference:

Mayo Clinic Researchers Discover Link between High Levels of HtrA1 Protein and Preeclampsia, a Complication of Pregnancy. Wednesday, February 01, 2006, Retrieved online 20th Jan, 2006 from 1

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2006-rst/3234.html

Elevated levels of a protein may warn of preeclampsia. Feb 2, 2006. Retrieved online 20th Jan, 2006 at http://www.babycenter.com/news/?id=530680

Website Evaluation Mayoclinic Essay