By Lilian H. Hill, PhD
There is so much health news in the media. It's in new
reports, in social media, in books promoting one perspective or another, in
magazines, and just about everywhere you look. Often the information seems
contradictory and the headlines scream. Don’t eat fat! Avoid gluten and
carbohydrates! Drink more water! Alcohol is bad for you, no wait … It’s good
for you as long as it’s red wine. Adopt a plant-based, keto, or Mediterranean
diet! There is just so much noise, it’s enough to make you give up and head to
your favorite doughnut shop.
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The health advice is not limited to diet. Instead, it extends to many other health decisions. Exercise until you sweat or until it hurts (otherwise known as no pain, no gain). Lift weights, do Pilates, Tai Chi, Yoga, walk 10,000 steps, and run marathons. Get outside and meditate! Avoid the sun, except oops, you need some sun to make Vitamin D and avoid depression. Vaccinate, or don’t vaccinate, depending on who you listen to. Take supplements, take vitamins, take your medicines, and take off-label prescriptions to lose weight and overcome addictions. This list could go on and on. |
With all the contradictory and confusing health
information, many people have taken to consulting “Dr. Google” with both
positive and negative effects. It is hard to discern what is valuable and
applicable to your own questions and confronting your doctor with your internet
pearls of wisdom may not go well.
What should we know about Chatbots?
This situation has become even more complicated with the advent of Chatbots in the health space that is used to answer questions online (Thomas, 2022). As conversation platforms, chatbots use artificial intelligence to respond to queries based on algorithms. Although the conversation may appear “human-like,” chatbots work by pulling information from the internet to produce a synthesis of data, news, and opinion. Unfortunately, they draw on both credible and flawed information. Some information may be biased, some may be selling a product, and some may be downright harmful. Chatbots don’t read in a human sense, meaning making sense of and being critical of information. They just mix everything together to produce what may appear to be a realistic-looking statement.
So how can we know whether the information we are seeing is credible?
Don’t ask health questions in a general search engine, and if you do scroll past the sponsored results at the top of the page. Instead, search for health information on credible health organization websites such as the Centers for Disease Control, Medline, and Mayo Clinic. Websites sponsored by the federal government tend to provide up-to-date reliable health information as do well-known medical schools (Levine, 2023).
Ask whether the health advice you are seeing is based on peer-reviewed, scientific research. If so, look at the researchers’ credentials, the sample size used in the study, whether the results were preliminary or definitive, and if the results corroborated by other studies. You can gain this information by reading the abstract, a short overview of the study, its methods, and findings. Be sure that you can trace the article to a credible health-related journal backed by a major organization such as the American Medical Association (Levine, 2023).
Look for consensus. If many websites are providing consistent information, then it is probably credible (Levine, 2023).
Explore whether the health advice is really trying to sell you products or a point of view. Can the product only be obtained by the selling organization? If you are tempted, calculate the full cost and not just the low-cost teaser rate designed to attract your interest.
Be careful about who is an “expert.” Many people are self-appointed experts but lack any recognized credentials. If they must scream at you in the media to establish their expertise, move on. If they show themselves as the primary beneficiaries of their scheme, be suspicious.
Use your common sense. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. It is important to recognize that what is good for one person is not good for everyone. Respect your individual needs, preferences, and social context. Remember that extreme athletes may look good but are not necessarily healthy (Inlander, 2023).
Finally, before you make radical lifestyle changes, talk to your doctor or health provider.
References
Inlander,C. B. (2). Making sense of medical information. BottomLIneInc. Retrieved https://www.bottomlineinc.com/health/health-care-providers/making-sense-out-of-medical-information
Levine, Hallie (2023, May), Health research safety tips. AARP Bulletin.
Thomas, L. (2022, May 4). The pros and cons of healthcare chatbots. Medical Life Sciences News. Retrieved from https://www.news-medical.net/health/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Healthcare-Chatbots.aspx
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