Subject and Class Guides: Nursing &amp; Healthcare: Find Websites

Finding Reliable Websites

How do you know what information online is trustworthy? Do what fact checkers do, and use Lateral Reading.

When you come across an unfamiliar online source:

Open a new tab in your browser.

Search the name of the unfamiliar source.

Check what trustworthy sites say about it.

If the source seems untrustworthy, don't waste your time on it. Find a better source.

from Lateral Reading Poster developed by Civic Online Reasoning & Stanford History Education Group

Using Websites

It is important to evaluate all information you encounter, but it is especially important to be critical of the information you find on the web. Does it pass the CRAAP test?

Currency: Is the site up-to-date and edited regularly?

Relevancy: Who is the intended audience for this information and is the information unique?

Authority: Who is the author and what are his or her credentials? Is there contact information? Is it a company, organization, or university?

Accuracy: Where does this information come from? Are there sources listed? Are there typos or spelling or grammar errors?

Purpose: Why was this site created? Is it intending to sell a product? What is the domain name (.edu, .gov, .com, .org)?

CRAAP Test
Download a PDF of this guide to use in your online research

Websites

Diseases and Diagnosis

Diagnosaurus
A useful medical reference resource which gives connections between symptoms and diseases. Browse by symptom, disease, or organ system.
Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center
Find information about rare diseases as well as featured guides for those with a rare disease. Access research into and news about rare diseases in addition to information about ORDR's specific work.
Health Topics A-Z (CDC)
Center for Disease Control and Prevention's list of health topics, including diseases and conditions,, alphabetized for your quick use.
The Merck Manual Online
Explains disorders, who is likely to get them, their symptoms, how they're diagnosed, how they might be prevented, and how they can be treated; also provides information about prognosis.

Health Information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Provides current and authoritative public health information, research focused on disease and injury prevention, and data on disease and distribution patterns. Search for information about diseases, health conditions, or public health issues.
Harvard Health
Current and reliable health and wellness information through a variety of media, including newsletters, reports, books, video, and interactive tools.
Mayo Clinic
Health information, including alphabetical lists of diseases and conditions, drugs & supplements, and test & procedures to research articles and blogs from medical professionals.
Top Health Websites from Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS)
Top 100 health Websites reviewed using the "Criteria for Assessing the Quality of Health Information on the Internet of the Health Summit Working Group." This group is a division of the Medical Library Association.
World Health Organization (WHO)
Get health topic information, videos, toolkits, data, and statistics on a variety of topics from the leading international health authority, WHO.

Historical and Images

Florence Nightingale Digitization Project
Over 2,000 letters handwritten or narrated by Florence Nightingale have been digitized and made searchable in this collection. Topics such as hospital design, military medicine, nurse administrators and statistics are covered.
The Medical Heritage Library (MHL)
A free, open access collection of digitized medical rare books, pamphlets, journals, and films representative of the past six centuries and provided by some of the world’s leading medical libraries.
MedPix: National Library of Medicine
Free open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics.

Glossary

Evidence-Based Medicine Glossary
Find definitions within evidenced-based medicine (EBM).

Professional Nursing Organizations

Many professional nursing organizations have resources to help in your research or information on pursuing a career in that field.

To find more organizations, try searching the Internet for a specialty and "association," "society," or "professional." Most sites will end in .org.

Drug Information Resources

ClinicalTrials.gov
Information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies on a wide range of diseases and conditions.
DailyMed
From the National Institutes of Health, find official FDA information about marketed drugs, including National Drug Codes (NDCs), drug class, and "black box" warnings.
Drug Information Portal
Selected drug information from the U.S. National Library of Medicine and other agencies.
Drugs.com
Drug information for consumers and health care professionals, as well as pill identification, news, and clinical trial information from reputable sources.
Epocrates Online
Prescription drug information for thousands of brand, generic, and OTC medicines. Additional useful features include pill identification, drug-to-drug interaction checker, and printable patient medication handouts.
Kaiser Permanente Drug Encyclopedia
Includes dietary supplements and intravenous medications, as well as considerable coverage of natural and alternative treatments.
PDR
The PDR offers comprehensive drug reference information and images. A free mobile app is also available. First published in 1947, the PDR moved to an free online only format after 2017.
RxList: The Internet Drug Index
Search drugs alphabetically or use the helpful pill identifier. Users can also use the symptom checker to view possible conditions. Articles are written by board-certified physicians.

Medical & Healthcare Statistics

Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality: Research
FastStats (CDC)
Quick access to data from the National Center for Health Statistics in an easy-to-read format.
Montana Department of Health & Human Services Health Data & Statistical Reports
Montana's DPHHS site offers users the ability to browse all kinds of health information specific to Montana, including: birth and death statistics; tobacco use surveys; youth risk behavior surveillance surveys; cardiovascular disease reports; general communicable disease summary reports; and much more.
National Center for Health Statistics
Statistics of public health importance. Links are provided to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related web pages. Provided through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
World Health Statistics (WHO)
Annual data from the World Health Organization's 193 member states covering all aspects of health (life expectancy, mortality, infectious disease, health coverage, etc.).

General State & National Statistics & Data

Explore Census Bureau
The platform for accessing data from the US Census Bureau. Search for data, explore the maps and visualizations, and view data profiles.
U.S. Data & Statistics
Many government agencies have statistical information on a wide range of topics. You may need to do further research to find out which agency has the information you are looking for or can help you
Pew Research Center
Information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The center conducts public opinion polling, demographic studies, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. It does not take positions on policy issues.
State and County QuickFacts: Montana
Find statistics (most from the 2010 national census) for Montana and local areas with populations of 5,000+. View such data about people, business, housing and geography. From the U.S. Census Bureau.

Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
Social, political, and economic statistics for the United States.