Evaluating Website Credibility
Evaluating the credibility of a website is extremely important, especially when it can impact a person’s health. I have chosen a dot gov domain, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) mission is “to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the US” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). The search engine utilized to find the CDC website was Google.com. The domain where the CDC is located is cdc.gov and the URL is http://www.cdc.gov. When selecting a website, I wanted a site that was relevant to my specialty and well known for informing the community on current health issues.
Analysis of the Website
Analysis of the CDC website shows they utilize many experts in a variety of fields from Medical doctors to masters and doctoral degree researchers. Experts’ credentials are clearly listed at the end of articles and the CDC stands behind the information placed on the website. Since the CDC is a government agency they are legally held accountable for the quality of information that they disburse including videos, webpages, brochures, and research papers. The organization uses peer review for all articles published and has a policy for correcting any inaccurate written or online information. Also they can be contacted multiple ways including a physical address, phone number, and email address.
Information on the CDC website is frequently updated and all webpages and articles have the date the content was last reviewed and also last updated, usually located at the bottom left of the page. The information found on the site is vast and extremely well written. In researching the site I was pleased by the simple language used to relay complex information. I found this was intentional and required with federal agencies, subject to the Plain Writing Act of 2010.
The objectivity of the website is clear, it is a nonprofit agency, run by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC has an operating budget close to $7 billion, sourced from public health funds. No advertisements were found on this site and links that led to external sites were clearly marked. This website is well designed and easy to navigate. There is a tool bar across the top for general content as well as an alphabetical index and search field on the far right. The main page has news, current outbreak information, and quick links on the CDC and its research. There is also an option at the bottom of each page to change the format of the page.
Privacy information is accessed via a link on the bottom center of the homepage. Per the privacy policy no personal information is retained. Information that is retained is for tracking purposes only and involves how the user found the site, tallying the number of visits to the site, and tracking the information the user was searching. The site is protected by US government statutes, including Title 18 of the US code.
Empirical Evidence Supporting the Website
Roberts (2010) discusses the need for nurses to advocate for their patients that are seeking health information online. The web can often provide unreliable information that could negatively affect people that do not have medical knowledge. She also recommends using a standard method for weeding out websites that are not appropriate resources which includes the 5 Cs “credibility, currency, content, construction, and clarity” (Roberts, 2010, p. 322). This process can help validate if the information presented is safe, unbiased, and useable. (Lane, 2010) takes much the same approach and suggests that the URL may provide insight on who has influenced the website. Also, she states that it is important to distinguish between true information rather than skillfully disguised advertisements. There are many online resources that can be used to assess a website to determine who developed the page and why, if they have a financial interest in the site, and also if the information is accurate and up to date (National Network of Libraries of Medicine, n.d.). When objectively assessing the CDC site, it appears to have credible information on many topics and also instills a sense of trust in the user with its reputation and mission regarding educating and informing the public.
Application to Nursing Practice
In my practice as an emergency and trauma nurse I have referred to the CDC website on multiple occasions. This past year we had several patients that were screened for Ebola and placed into isolation at my hospital. The nursing staff obtained information from the CDC website and actually worked directly with CDC personnel to determine if the patients were infected. I have also found the detailed information on post rabies exposure on the website to be very useful and often print it out for new hires to familiarize them with general information including transmission risk and treatment protocols. Lastly, I live in Charleston, SC, a travel destination and a cruise ship port. Last week I treated a patient that was diagnosed with Malaria and treatment was initiated based on information obtained from the CDC website.
Conclusion
The volume of information on the internet is growing and as nurses we need to educate our patients on how important it is for their health and safety to obtain evidence based, rational, and reputable information. The CDC website is a credible source that can be utilized to help patients understand many conditions and also help maintain awareness on disease processes affecting domestic and international populations. As I continue my practice I feel confident in reviewing content on the CDC website and referring patients to do the same.

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). www.cdc.gov/about/organization/mission.htm
Lane, R. V. (2010). STOP! Evaluate Website Before Use. The Dental Assistant, 12-14, 45. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5bc33e80-730f-4497-811d-cbe40247715b%40sessionmgr112&vid=5&hid=122
National Network of Libraries of Medicine. (n.d.). http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/evalsite.html
Roberts, L. (2010). Health information and the internet: The 5 Cs website evaluation tool. British Journal of Nursing, 19(5), 322-325. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5bc33e80-730f-4497-811d-cbe40247715b%40sessionmgr112&vid=2&hid=122