The internet is a minefield full of inaccurate, biased sites.

How do you tell the difference between good information and bad information? You need a guide to help you evaluate sites, to tell whether the articles presented are valid and accurate, to discover when someone is trying to sell you something, and to discern between a legitimate view and a crackpot’s rant.

This two-part series of articles is intended to be a guide for you in your search for trustworthy information. It outlines the collective wisdom of medical librarians, mental health professionals, professional associations, and other experts who surf the web every day to discover quality information in support of clinical and scientific decision making by professionals responsible for the nation’s mental health.

Today’s information, part 2 of the series, is presented under the following headings:

• How old is the information? When was it published or reviewed?
• Does the site support the doctor-patient relationship?
• Privacy, advertising, and other policies should be clearly stated
• How does the site interact with visitors?

Be sure to read yesterday’s installment, too. It discussed these topics:

• What is the purpose of the site?
• Who owns the site? How is it funded?
• Be on guard for bias and competing interests
• Authorship and affiliation are important
• Authority and cited sources

How old is the information? When was it published or reviewed?

Mental health information eventually becomes stale in light of ongoing research, so it needs to be constantly updated to reflect the most recent knowledge and understanding available. Publication and review dates allow an internet user to judge how current and relevant the information is likely to be.

Current misinformation is still misinformation, so currency is no guarantee by itself of reliable, quality mental health information. But this is one more piece of information you can look for to help you judge the overall accuracy and reliability of the article you are reading.

Web sites should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. It is particularly important that mental health information be current. The most recent update or review date should be clearly posted. Even if the information has not changed, you want to know whether the site owners have reviewed it recently to ensure that it is still valid.

All Anxiety, Panic & Health articles are clearly dated below the title. Review dates are listed at the end of the article.

Does the site support the doctor-patient relationship?

Many sites, especially those selling “cures,” implicitly sever the doctor-patient relationship and substitute their remedies for professional mental health care solutions. They often will openly challenge the validity of professional mental health care in favor of their product. It is typical that none of the site’s claims relating to benefits and performance are backed up with anything more than customers’ testimonials. If any medical endorsement is presented at all, it will be from a single source whose authority is questionable.

Reputable sites hold the doctor-patient relationship as inviolable and recommend consulting your doctor before using (and hopefully, buying) their product.

Any mental health information on such sites should be approached with extreme caution. Be instantly suspicious if the emphasis is on selling you a product or touting a product.

Anxiety, Panic & Health holds the doctor-patient relationship in highest regard, and never seeks to violate or diminish that relationship in any way. This is stated clearly in my Disclaimer.

Privacy, advertising, and other policies should be clearly stated

Every site should have a privacy and advertising policy at a minimum, even if it’s as simple as, “We don’t collect personally identifiable information on this site, nor do we accept advertising.” That’s a policy that is clear, concise, and transparent. If you can’t glance at a site’s policy and pick up the main points, the site may not be worth spending too much time on.

For a privacy policy, the main points are what information they collect from you and what do they do with it. Frequently you are asked for your email address and name to register, subscribe, or become a member of a health-related site. In addition, web sites routinely track the path users take through their sites to determine what pages are being used through the use of “cookies.” You should know that many sites sell the information you provide to other companies, and that “cookies” can be used not only to follow you as you browse the internet, but identify you for advertising purposes.

You should look for and read the site’s privacy policy before giving them any information. If the site does not have a privacy policy, do not provide them with any personal data under any circumstances. If you suspect that the site uses cookies, either turn them off in your browser or leave immediately.

The main points for an advertising policy are whom do they allow to advertise on their site, whether the advertisers have any say over their content, and what do they do with their revenues. If you don’t agree with their answers, or their answers are hard to discern from their policies, move along to another, more transparent site.

Anxiety, Panic & Health’s policies are grouped under the “Policies” tab in the menu. There you will find:

• A “Disclaimer” stating my qualifications for writing and editing articles
• A Comment Policy” that describes the do’s and don’ts of commenting on articles
• A “Funding and Advertising Policy” that lays out ownership, funding, and advertising on this site
• A “Privacy Statement” that describes the data collected from visitors to this site, and what is done with that information

How does the site interact with visitors?

There should always be a way for you to contact the site owner if you run across problems, have questions, or want to send feedback. Somewhere on the screen should be a “Contact” or similarly worded link that will allow you to interact with the site owner or their representative. If the site provides no contact information, or if you can’t easily find out who runs the site, use caution. If you do contact the site, another gauge of their credibility is the promptness of their reply and whether it is a form letter or a personal note.

If the site hosts chat rooms or other online discussion areas, it should tell visitors what the terms of using this service are. Is it moderated? If so, by whom, and why? It is always a good idea to spend time reading the discussion without joining in, so that you feel comfortable with the environment before becoming a participant.

Anxiety, Panic & Health has a “Contact” tab in the menu on every screen. It sends an email directly to me. I answer all emails promptly. Users can interact with other readers and me by writing comments at the end of articles. I reply to all comments quickly, and if necessary will send an email to the commenter.

Be sure to read yesterday’s installment

It discussed important topics that you should be aware of under the headings:

• What is the purpose of the site?
• Who owns the site? How is it funded?
• Be on guard for bias and competing interests
• Authorship and affiliation are important
• Authority and cited sources

What do you think?

I have a specialized browser optimized for search, DEVONagent. I can enter a search query and get sites from many sources on the internet that a Google search alone would miss. Sometimes it produces hundreds of hits that are closely related to my search terms. It never ceases to amaze and surprise me how many sites are invalidated based on the criteria outlined in this guide — at least half of them, and according to the search keywords, sometimes more.

This is disturbing to me, since many people innocently put in a search term, and pick only the first two or three at the top of Google’s list for their information. Often these are the most inaccurate they could find!

• What has been your experience searching for information?
• Have you found the information available to be accurate, or biased and unreliable?
• What do you think of this series? Has it helped you in any way?

©2009 Michael L Nichols. All rights reserved.

Resources used in this post:
Grohol, John M. (2007, January 11). Reliability and Validity in a Web 2.0 World. Retrieved June 25, 2008 from Psych Central web site.
Grohol, John M. (2007, December 4). Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites. Retrieved June 25, 2008 from Psych Central web site.
Kroski, Ellyssa. (2006, February 20). Authority in the Age of the Amateur. Retrieved October 21, 2008 from Infotangle web site.
Medical Library Association. (2008, July 25). A User’s Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from Medical Library Association web site.
Medline Plus. (2006, February 13). Medline Plus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from Medline Plus web site.
National Cancer Institute. (2005, September 1). How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet: Questions and Answers. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from National Cancer Institute web site.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (2008, August 27). 10 Things to Know About Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine web site.
National Institute on Aging. (2005, August). Health Quackery: Spotting Health Scams. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from National Institute on Aging web site.
Schloman, Barbara F. (2002, December 16). Information Resources: Quality of Health Information on the Web: Where Are We Now? Retrieved October 27, 2008 from The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing web site.
Winker, Margaret; Flanagin, Annette; Chi-Lum, Bonnie; White, John; Andrews, Karen; Kennett, Robert; DeAngelis, Catherine; Musacchio, Robert. (2008, August 1). Guidelines for medical and health information sites on the Internet. Retrieved October 22, 2008 from American Medical Association web site.

Related Posts:

• Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 1
• HONcode Principles: How Anxiety, Panic & Health Complies With Them
• HONcode Certification Earned by Anxiety, Panic & Health!
• Simple Blood Test for Panic Disorder Developed
• What Can I Do? Helping a Friend or Family Member with a Mental Illness

The internet allows patients, consumers, physicians, and other mental health care professionals to quickly access mental health information.

Millions of Americans search for mental health information on the web every year. Whether the information is needed for personal reasons or for a loved one, millions of mental health-related web pages are viewed. Sometimes the information found is authoritative, unbiased, and just what was needed. Other searches end in the retrieval of inaccurate, even dangerous, information.

How do you know whether the site you’re looking at presents valid, up-to-date information, or whether it is trying to sell you something, the rantings of a lunatic with an axe to grind, or otherwise bogus?

This article is intended to be a guide for you in your search for trustworthy information. It outlines the collective wisdom of medical librarians, mental health professionals, professional associations, and other experts who surf the web every day to discover quality information in support of clinical and scientific decision-making by professionals responsible for the nation’s mental health.

This is the first of a 2-part series. The information for today is presented under the following headings:

• What is the purpose of the site?
• Who owns the site? How is it funded?
• Be on guard for bias and competing interests
• Authorship and affiliation are important
• Authority and cited sources

Tomorrow’s installment, Part 2, will continue with the topics:

• How old is the information? When was it published or reviewed?
• Does the site support the doctor-patient relationship?
• Privacy, advertising, and other policies should be clearly stated
• How does the site interact with visitors?

What is the purpose of the site?

This is the first question you should ask. Is the site informational? Is it intended to sell you something? Is the author ranting about a pet peeve or an off-the-wall theory?

The website should clearly state whether the information is intended for the consumer or the health professional. Many health information websites have two different areas — one for consumers, one for professionals. The design of the site should make selection of one area over the other clear to the user.

This question is related to who runs and pays for the site. An “About This Site” link should be present on the site. If it’s not there, it should raise red flags. But if it’s there, use it. The purpose of the site should be clearly stated and should help you evaluate the trustworthiness of the information.

Anxiety, Panic & Health’s purpose is clearly stated in both the “About” and the “My Story” articles.

Who owns the site? How is it funded?

Any good health-related Web site should make it easy for you to learn who is responsible for the site and its information. and how it is funded.

Can you easily identify the site sponsor? Sponsorship is important because it helps establish the site as respected and dependable. Does the site list advisory board members or consultants? This may give you further insights on the credibility of information published by the site.

The web address itself can provide additional information about the nature of the site and the sponsor’s intent.

• A government agency or site sponsored by the Federal government has .gov in the address.
• An educational institution is indicated by .edu in the address.
• A professional organization such as a scientific or research society will be identified as .org. For example, the American Cancer Society’s website is http://www.cancer.org/.
• Commercial sites are most often identified by .com, and will identify the sponsor as a company, for example Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical firm.
• Non-commercial sites can be designated by .com, too, and also .net. The .com in the address is often chosen to make the site appear more professional or authoritative. Anxiety, Panic & Health has a .com address for these reasons.

The site should fully disclose the identities of commercial and noncommercial organizations that have contributed funding, services, or material to the site. Look for an “about us” page to check to see who runs the site. Know who is responsible for the content. Advertisements should be labeled. They should say “Advertisement” or “From our Sponsor.”

Anxiety, Panic & Health’s ownership and funding is stated in its “Funding and Advertising Policy” statement. Its advertisements are clearly labeled.

Be on guard for bias and competing interests

Nearly every author of every article ever written has an unspoken agenda that guides their writing. Psychologists, and even researchers, can be influenced by their background and education. Psychiatrists are often influenced by pharmaceutical marketing materials and their own medical training.

Educated internet users can use this understanding of an author’s motivations to help discern the value of information found online. A research news brief from the National Institute of Mental Health is likely to be less biased than a research news brief from a pharmaceutical company. A press release from a university describing some new therapy research will tend to be more biased than the actual peer-reviewed study.

Beware of sites selling products or services. A site selling Anxiety “cures” has an obvious bias, and any articles found there should be taken with a large grain of salt. A pharmaceutical company’s site may have a mix of factual articles, such as drug information, and articles biased in favor of their products. Someone selling their psychotherapy services online may subtly shape their articles (or links to other articles) to reflect a more pro-therapy stance. The key is to understand that this bias exists in many articles found online, and to use caution in relying on the information they provide.

Anxiety, Panic & Health’s “Funding and Advertising Policy” clearly states that I do not accept payment for reviews, favorable articles, or any other content that would potentially conflict with the editorial policies of this site or violate the trust of my readers. To minimize bias, every article is backed up with authoritative sources for all information.

Authorship and affiliation are important

Every page on the internet has been authored by someone, somewhere, at some specific time in the past. Unfortunately, most pages on most sites do not include this very basic information. Every article should name its author, the date it was written, and include information about the author, including affiliations. If there is no short biography or affiliations listed, look for an “about” page for this information.

If authorship and affiliation are not readily evident, the reader should question the validity of the article. Authorship also helps one determine possible bias in the article’s presentation of information.

Every Anxiety, Panic & Health article has the author and date clearly displayed at the head of the article. My biography and affiliations are in the “About” and the “My Story” articles. Other affiliations are listed under the sidebar heading,”Friendly Links.” Guest authors are clearly identified and have a short biography.

Authority and cited sources

One of the major points of contention raised by critics about blogging and online information is that it lacks filters. In other words, it is missing the editorial process: the fact checker correcting inaccurate information, the copy editor tweaking grammar, and the editor determining objectivity and relevance. In print publications, authority resides both in the identity of the author and with the publisher. This combination of individual and institutional authority lends the reader valuable clues about the credibility of the source material. This kind of authority is missing on the internet.

An important way to check the authority of mental health information online is to look for cited sources. Articles should have clinical research, authoritative articles and books, and other trustworthy sources of information as an integral part of the information provided. Every medical fact or figure should have references to back it up.

A person seeking mental health information online is seeking a balanced and authoritative understanding of the condition. However, this has become increasingly difficult because some websites and blogs blur the lines between facts and opinions. And sometimes we as readers tend to confuse facts with opinions — or emphasize one over the other — to the detriment of understanding.

If the article is the author’s opinion, it should be clearly stated. Opinions or advice should be clearly set apart from information that is “evidence-based” (that is, based on research results). Beware of articles that do not offer external medical evidence to back up their claims, or that do not make it clear that the opinion or advice offered is personal.

Anxiety, Panic & Health’s articles always have resources listed, and in the case of medical information every fact and figure is footnoted or backed up by an authoritative source. Opinion articles are clearly categorized as such. This is especially important, since I am not a mental health professional, as stated in my “Disclaimer.”

Don’t miss tomorrow’s installment!

Tomorrow’s installment, Part 2, covers important topics that you are sure not to want to miss. It will continue with the topics:

• How old is the information? When was it published or reviewed?
• Does the site support the doctor-patient relationship?
• Privacy, advertising, and other policies should be clearly stated
• How does the site interact with visitors?

What do you think?

Searching for reliable mental health information on the web can be a very frustrating experience. Often a source that seems promising turns up to be promoting a product or a theory that is unproved and unprovable. Search long enough and you will even run into rampant plagiarism of articles from one bad source to another!

• What is your experience of searching the internet for medical or mental health information?
• Have you ever been frustrated by the volume of unreliable sites?
• Do you have an opinion about the trustworthiness of commercial sites?

©2009 Michael L Nichols. All rights reserved.

Resources used in this post:
Grohol, John M. (2007, January 11). Reliability and Validity in a Web 2.0 World. Retrieved June 25, 2008 from Psych Central web site.
Grohol, John M. (2007, December 4). Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites. Retrieved June 25, 2008 from Psych Central web site.
Kroski, Ellyssa. (2006, February 20). Authority in the Age of the Amateur. Retrieved October 21, 2008 from Infotangle web site.
Medical Library Association. (2008, July 25). A User’s Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from Medical Library Association web site.
Medline Plus. (2006, February 13). Medline Plus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from Medline Plus web site.
National Cancer Institute. (2005, September 1). How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet: Questions and Answers. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from National Cancer Institute web site.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (2008, August 27). 10 Things to Know About Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine web site.
National Institute on Aging. (2005, August). Health Quackery: Spotting Health Scams. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from National Institute on Aging web site.
Schloman, Barbara F. (2002, December 16). Information Resources: Quality of Health Information on the Web: Where Are We Now? Retrieved October 27, 2008 from The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing web site.
Winker, Margaret; Flanagin, Annette; Chi-Lum, Bonnie; White, John; Andrews, Karen; Kennett, Robert; DeAngelis, Catherine; Musacchio, Robert. (2008, August 1). Guidelines for medical and health information sites on the Internet. Retrieved October 22, 2008 from American Medical Association web site.

Related Posts:

• Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 2
• HONcode Certification Earned by Anxiety, Panic & Health!
• HONcode Principles: How Anxiety, Panic & Health Complies With Them
• Simple Blood Test for Panic Disorder Developed
• Update: Financial Help with Prescription Medications

I‘m about to violate a rule for bloggers: Don’t ever explain a protracted absence from blogging. Blogging experts say that it’s better to “never complain and never explain” and to just pick up blogging where you left off.

However, I feel that I owe it to my readers to let you know why there have been no new posts in over two months, and what I’m doing about it.

The primary focus of this blog is the Anxiety Disorders, obviously. The blog’s genesis arose from my own struggles with multiple Anxiety Disorders, with the hope that I could help someone else. 

But if you read the “About Me” or the “My Story” tabs, you will learn that I also have bipolar disorder with rapid cycling. Dealing with my underlying bipolar disorder can be challenging, to say the least. 

I have been in a depressive cycle for over 2 months, and it has been very difficult to perform the basic functions in my life, much less write blog articles. Though I have good medication that prevents me from going into the deepest depression, I still could not focus or concentrate enough to write. My therapist and I are working on ways for me to continue with this blog when I am depressed, and I believe we have made good progress.

While I’m not out of the woods yet, my bipolar disorder is beginning to cycle away from  the depression. In addition, I have learned some things that will help me write, no matter what mood I happen to be in at the time.

I am working on new articles now, and I expect to resume posting very soon. I definitely am not abandoning this blog — let’s just say I’ve had a long time-out!

Related Posts:

• The Day I Didn’t Go to the Poetry Reading
• Chronic Insomnia Can Lead to Anxiety Disorders
• Anxiety Is Bad for Your Heart!
• How to Take Care of Yourself When Your Partner Has an Anxiety Disorder
• Dizzy? It May Be an Anxiety Disorder!

The HONcode badge is awarded by the Health On the Net Foundation to sites that have passed a rigorous application process.

I am honored and excited that Anxiety, Panic & Health was certified by the Health on the Net Foundation in October, 2008. It means that this site complies with the Health on the Net Code of Conduct and can display the HONcode badge, shown on the rightmost sidebar.

The award-winning Health On the Net Foundation developed the HONcode in 1996 as a means to standardize requirements to establish the reliability and credibility of health information. It certifies websites through a stringent application and review process, then polices the site to make sure it continues to comply with its eight Principles. It has certified over 6,500 websites worldwide in 32 languages, and has partnerships with the European Union, the World Health Organization, the National Library of Medicine, and Google.

This article is the second in a two-part series. It  lists the eight HONcode Principles and how Anxiety, Panic & Health complies with them. Yesterday’s post, “HONcode Certification Earned by Anxiety, Panic & Health!” introduces the Health On the Net Foundation and describes its world-wide effort to bring accountability, reliability and quality to medical and health information on the internet.

What are the HONCode Principles?

The Health On the Net Foundation has eight Principles that cover most of a health- and medical-related website’s activities. They were developed after extensive consultation with webmasters, editors, scientists, doctors, authors and website owners.

The Principles are similar to other organizations’ guidelines and principles, such as those of the American Medical Association, although they are several years more established than the AMA’s.[1] However, the AMA’s guidelines are meant for its own sites only, as are almost all of the guidelines from other organizations.

The Health On the Net Foundation HONcode accreditation is the premier health- and medical-related website accreditation service on the internet today. It is unique in its stringent application, review and certification process, as it is in its policing of accredited sites for continued compliance. The HONCode Principles are as follows (note that all policy statements are found in the rightmost sidebar under “Reference & Info”): [2][3]

Principle 1: Authoritative

Indicate the qualifications of the authors

Any medical or health advice provided and hosted on this site will only be given by medically trained and qualified professionals unless a clear statement is made that a piece of advice offered is from a non-medically qualified individual or organisation. In addition, 

• All medical information must be attributed to an author and their training in the field must be mentioned.
• The qualifications of the information provider must be clearly stated.
• If the author is not a medical professional, this must be clearly stated on the web site.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

The Disclaimer clearly states Mike Nichols’ qualifications and training. Each post is marked with the author’s name. Any guest posts will have the required information in the body of the post.

Principle 2: Complementarity

Information should support, not replace, the doctor-patient relationship

The information provided on this site is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician. In addition,

• A description of the website’s mission, purpose and intended audience is necessary.
• A description of the organization behind the website, its mission and its purpose is also necessary.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

The Disclaimer clearly states that any information on this site is not meant to replace the doctor-patient relationship. This message is also a part of any post where it is appropriate. The “About” tab at the top of the page describes the site’s mission, purpose and intended audience.

Principle 3: Privacy

Respect the privacy and confidentiality of personal data submitted to the site by the visitor

Confidentiality of data relating to individual patients and visitors to a medical/health Web site, including their identity, is respected by this Web site. The Web site owners undertake to honor or exceed the legal requirements of medical/health information privacy that apply in the country and state where the Web site and mirror sites are located. In addition,

• A description of how confidential, private or semi-private information such as names, email addresses, and the content of emails received from or sent to visitors are treated.
• Must inform users whether their data will be recorded in your own database and who can access this database.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

The Privacy Statement describes this site’s handling of names, email addresses and content — basically, they are kept in strictest confidence and never sold, given, or distributed to anyone for any purpose. The site has no database, so that part of the Principle is not applicable.

Principle 4: Attribution

Cite the source(s) of published information, date and medical and health pages

Where appropriate, information contained on this site will be supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, have specific HTML links to that data. The date when a clinical page was last modified will be clearly displayed (e.g. at the bottom of the page). In addition,

• All medical content (page or article) must have a specific date of creation and a last modification date.
• All sources of the medical content must be given. Clearly indicate the recognized, scientific or official sources of health information quoted in your articles. If another website, a book, an article, a database, or any other source is used, it has to be specified.
• Precise links must be provided to each source whenever possible, and the references should be in relation to the content referred.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

The creation date of all posts and articles is displayed under their title, and modification dates are at the end. Each post and article, unless it is opinion, has a list of resources at the end. Some will have footnotes, such as this article. Each source is carefully evaluated for credibility and authority before being used. All sources must have valid URL’s, unless they are a book, journal or other print article, otherwise they are not used. Opinion posts are clearly indicated by the category “Opinion.”

Principle 5: Justifiability

Site must back up claims to benefits and performance

Any claims relating to the benefits/performance of a specific treatment, commercial product or service will be supported by appropriate, balanced evidence in the manner outlined above in Principle 4.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

Anxiety, Panic & Health does not promote commercial products or services, so in that sense this Principle is not applicable. Any suggestions for alleviating the symptoms of Anxiety Disorders will be backed up as stated in Principle 4.

Principle 6: Transparency

Accessible presentation, accurate email contact

The designers of this Web site will seek to provide information in the clearest possible manner and provide contact addresses for visitors that seek further information or support. The Webmaster will display his/her E-mail address clearly throughout the Web site. In addition, one must give an individual and prompt answer to each website visitor’s inquiries.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

The theme for this blog, Thesis, was chosen specifically to present information with clarity and simplicity. The “Contact” tab at the top of each page is available to email me directly. All emails are answered promptly and confidentially in accordance with the Privacy Statement.

Principle 7: Financial disclosure

Identify funding sources

Support for this Web site will be clearly identified, including the identities of commercial and non-commercial organisations that have contributed funding, services or material for the site. In addition, all conflicts of interest must be stated.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

The “Funding and Advertising Policy” describes the funding of this site. If a conflict of interest arises, it will either be placed in the Funding and Advertising Policy document, or a separate page will be written describing the conflict.

Principle 8: Advertising policy

Clearly distinguish advertising from editorial content

If advertising is a source of funding it will be clearly stated. A brief description of the advertising policy adopted by the Web site owners will be displayed on the site. Advertising and other promotional material will be presented to viewers in a manner and context that facilitates differentiation between it and the original material created by the institution operating the site. In addition,

• The advertising policy describes which advertisements are accepted.
• Advertisements and friendly links must be clearly marked to separate them from editorial content.

How Anxiety, Panic & Health complies

The “Funding and Advertising Policy” describes the advertising policy of this site, including which advertisements are accepted. Advertisements and “Friendly Links” are clearly marked and separate from editorial content. 

In conclusion

As you can see, the Health On the Net Foundation has strict standards for certification from their organization. I think it’s justified that I feel proud that Anxiety, Panic & Health has been certified by HON. I promise to you that I will maintain these standards, and exceed them when possible.

If you ever have any comments or concerns, please contact me by clicking on the “Contact” tab at the top of your screen.

This article is the second in a two-part series. Yesterday’s post, “HONcode Certification Earned by Anxiety, Panic & Health!” introduced the Health On the Net Foundation under the following topics:

• What is the Health On the Net Foundation?
• What does the Health On the Net Foundation do?
• How does a site become HONcode accredited?

What do you think?

As you might imagine, the Health On the Net’s application was many pages long and covered everything from the philosophy of this blog to specifics such as stated policies, along with supporting URL’s. Due to the rigorous application process and the reputation of the Health On the Net Foundation, I frankly didn’t expect to be accepted, at least the first time. Acceptance did come, however, along with a number of things that had to be fixed within a week! In my excitement, I dropped everything and fixed them right then. I believe strongly that the things I had to do to receive accreditation made this a better site. I hope you agree!

• Do you think that the Health On the Net accreditation adds to the authority of this blog?
• What else could I do to enhance the credibility and authority of the blog?
• Do you think that accreditation is overrated?

As always, your comments are welcome!

If you have enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to this blog, either via RSS or email at the top of your screen. It’s free! You can also follow me on Twitter from the same place. I would also appreciate your sharing this post using your favorite social media, such as StumbleUpon or Digg. Just click the little green “ShareThis” button at the bottom of this post.

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FOOTNOTES
1. Winker, Margaret; Flanagin, Annette; Chi-Lum, Bonnie; White, John; Andrews, Karen; Kennett, Robert; DeAngelis, Catherine; Musacchio, Robert. (2008, August 1). Guidelines for medical and health information sites on the Internet. Retrieved October 22, 2008 from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1905.html ↑
2. Health on the Net Foundation. (2008, August 21). HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and health Web sites: The HONcode in brief. Retrieved October 21, 2008 from http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Conduct.html ↑
3. Health on the Net Foundation. (2008, November 13). Operational definition of the HONcode principles. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Guidelines/guidelines.html↑


Related Posts:

• HONcode Certification Earned by Anxiety, Panic & Health!
• Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 2
• Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 1
• Simple Blood Test for Panic Disorder Developed
• Welcome to Anxiety, Panic & Health!

Take a look at the rightmost sidebar of this blog, and you will see the HONcode badge.

I am honored and excited that Anxiety, Panic & Health was accredited by the Health on the Net Foundation in October, 2008. It means that this site complies with the Health on the Net Code of Conduct and can display the HONcode badge.

The award-winning Health On the Net Foundation developed the HONcode in 1996 as a means to standardize requirements to establish the reliability and credibility of health information. It certifies websites through a stringent application and review process, then polices the site to make sure it continues to comply with its eight Principles. It has certified over 6,500 websites worldwide in 32 languages, and has partnerships with the European Union, the World Health Organization, the National Library of Medicine, and Google.

This article is the first in a two-part series. Today’s post will introduce you to the Health On the Net Foundation. Tomorrow’s post lists the HONcode principles and how Anxiety, Panic & Health complies with them. Today’s topics include:

• What is the Health On the Net Foundation?
• What does the Health On the Net Foundation do?
• How does a site become HONcode accredited?

What is the Health On the Net Foundation?

HON established in 1995

The Health On the Net Foundation (HON) was established 1995 under the auspices of the Ministry of Health of the State of Geneva. It is a non-governmental organization. Its stated mission is: [1]

To guide Internet users by highlighting reliable, understandable, relevant and trustworthy sources of online health and medical information.

HON arose from concerns such as:[2]

• The uncertain quality of medical advice provided on growing numbers of Web sites
• The lack of scientific evidence behind claims made for commercially-available treatments
• Many sites were not providing even basic user orientation, like the source of cited documents, Webmaster contact information, last-update notices on pages or information on their organisational structure and funding.

The HONcode was developed in 1996 after discussions with webmasters and information providers showed that they were anxious to improve their services and would be happy to follow some simple, broadly-accepted rules and guidelines for content presentation. Today, the HONcode certifies: [3]

• Over 6,500 sites world wide
• 72 countries
• 32 languages
• Over 1,200,000 web pages accredited

What does the Health On the Net Foundation do?

Accountability, quality and reliability for websites

HON has several missions besides the HONcode certification of web sites. It is active world-wide in establishing accountability, quality and reliability for websites. Its activities include:[4]

• HONdossiers. Special in-depth reports and surveys on health topics and eHealth trends which deserve special attention
• HONcode. Accreditation of websites with the aim to improve the informational quality of medical and health on the internet. Maintains a searchable database — the only one — of reliable health sites on the internet.
• HONprojects (in partnership with Google). These include MedHunt, an intelligent and specialized search engine designed to locate internet information related to a given medical and health domain; and HONselect, the first assisted-search facility that integrates diverse databases to offer users a full assortment of healthcare information and resources available on the internet.
• WRAPIN. HON-led European Union project to automatically determine the quality and reliability of medical documents online.
• HON is the official accrediting body for all French health websites.

It has partnerships with the European Union, the World Health Organization, National Library of Medicine, and Google, among others. Among its international recognitions are:[5]

• In 2002, HON Foundation was recognized as a non-governmental organization and granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council
• In May 2004, HON won the “eEurope Award for eHealth” presented by the European Union and the European Commission 

HON participated actively in the development of the European Union document setting quality criteria for use by Member States, as well as public and private bodies, in the development  of quality initiatives for health related sites.[6][7]

How does a website become HONcode accredited?

Certification process is quite stringent

The HONcode application and approval process is quite rigorous. To obtain certification, a Web site applies for registration through a lengthy online form. If accepted, the site agrees to abide by the HON Principles and qualifies to display the HONcode seal. The HONcode accreditation team consists of:[8]

• 6 Physicians
• 1 Pharmacist
• 1 Ph.D. in molecular biology
• 2 Law graduates
• 3 Medical students

HON does regular random checks of sites to certify compliance, as well as relying on reports from the public.[9] It is the only accrediting organization that allows the public to comment on the compliance of websites with its code, as well as actively policing accredited sites. It has a system of warning sites about non-compliance, finally resulting in withdrawing accreditation.

Tomorrow’s post

Tomorrow’s post, entitled “HONCode Principles: How Anxiety, Panic & Health Fulfills Them,” will list the eight Principles of the Health on the Net Code of Conduct and how Anxiety, Panic & Health complies with each one.

What do you think?

I am like a proud papa whose son has hit the home run that won the series! Perhaps I’m over-enthusiastic, but HON certification is a great honor and validation of this blog’s content and purpose. The HONcode is the premier certification in the world for health- and medical-related websites.

• Have you ever heard of the Health On the Net Foundation?
• Have you seen the HONcode badge on any other sites?
• Do you think that the HONcode certification adds authority to Anxiety, Panic & Health?

As always, your comments are welcome!

If you have enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to this blog, either via RSS or email at the top of your screen. It’s free! You can also follow me on Twitter from the same place. I would also appreciate your sharing this post using your favorite social media, such as StumbleUpon or Digg. Just click the little green “ShareThis” button at the bottom of this post.

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FOOTNOTES
1. Health on the Net Foundation. (2006, October 9). Trustworthy health and medical information: the Health On the Net initiative. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www.hon.ch/Global/pdf/TrustworthyOct2006.pdf , p.6↑
2. Health on the Net Foundation. (2006, March 30). How it started. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/background.html. ¶ 2↑
3.  Health on the Net Foundation. (2006, October 9). p.10↑
4. Health on the Net Foundation. (2008). Health On the Net Foundation. Retrieved November 17, 2008 from http://www.hon.ch/ ↑
5. Health on the Net Foundation. (2006, October 9). p.26 ↑
6. Health on the Net Foundation. (3006, April 3). EU Joins Standards Setting Movement with Publication of Quality Criteria. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/HON_CCE_intro.htm ↑
7. If you would like to read the European Union document “eEurope 2002: Quality Criteria for Health Related Websites,” it is available at http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/HON_CCE_en.htm as of November 15, 2008. ↑
8. Health on the Net Foundation. (2006, October 9). p.4 ↑
9. HON has been on the Anxiety, Panic & Health site at least once a week since it was accredited in October, 2008!↑


Related Posts:

• HONcode Principles: How Anxiety, Panic & Health Complies With Them
• Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 2
• Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 1
• Simple Blood Test for Panic Disorder Developed
• Shameless Self-Promotion

It’s been a busy, busy week here at Anxiety Central!

I’ve posted big articles every day, each one of which took 3-4 hours to write.

And I’ve been working on the Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) reference article, and am almost finished (30 hours and counting). I hope to have it up by Monday.

Most of you know — or can find out quickly — that Anxiety, Panic & Health passed its one month anniversary yesterday, July 25th. I’m proud to say that the site has had over 1500 page views during that time. Some of the more popular articles have been read over 100 times! You can see a list of the most popular articles on the right sidebar. 

The How of Happiness

Gary Farrow has another article of note this week, Our Conversation with Author Sonja Lyubomirsky: On Happiness and Depression. She is the author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. If you want to know more about the book, Adventures in Reading has a (long) article entitled “The How of Happiness: Chapter by Chapter.”

Website Changes

I’ve been thinking very hard about how this website looks. The appearance is governed by what is called a “theme.” Before starting this site, I must have looked at 200 themes, from garish to bland to bizarre. 

The theme that you see seemed to be the best, but I’ve never been completely satisfied with it. It’s a little dark, and seems to me to impart the wrong message. I want this site to offer hope and ways to live with health, wellness and wholeness, not a feeling of gloom!

I can tinker with the theme, or I can try to find a better one. Tinkering takes a lot of time, which I’d rather spend researching and writing quality articles.

I’ll be having a survey soon to let you help me decide what to do! 

If you have any thoughts, I’d appreciate your writing a comment.

Upcoming Articles

Articles I’m preparing now include:

• The Brain Cells Related to Fear Identified
• Shyness or Social Phobia?
• Victimization and Self-Victimization
• 8 Ways to Make Yourself a First-Class Worrier

I’m also getting an article about subscribing to this blog ready. Many of my readers may not know what RSS or subscribing is all about. The article will not be a regular post, but will be found under the subscribe buttons on the left hand sidebar.

Have a great weekend!

If you have enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to this blog, either via RSS or email at the right top of the screen. I would also appreciate it if you shared this article with your favorite social media, such as StumbleUpon or Digg. Just click the little green “ShareThis” button at the bottom of this post.

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• Saturday Summary: 50 Ways to Calm Your Anxiety, the New Look, and Psychotherapy Going Down the Tubes
• Saturday Summary: Anxiety Articles, Interesting Posts, Upcoming Reviews
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• 5 More Interesting Articles for You: Your Occasional Reader

This week I want to point out a couple of great articles on the internet for you, give you an update on the reference articles on this blog, and give you a peek at some upcoming book reviews.

But first, let me reemphasize how much I welcome your comments. They provide other readers with your insights into a post’s subject, and provide me with valuable feedback to make this blog better and better.

Please take the time to make a comment after you have read an article, or even if you didn’t finish it! I promise always to read your comments, and if appropriate, answer them. Please feel free to ask questions or suggest post topics. I’m listening!

Anxiety Reference Articles

I had intended to start this blog with all the what I call reference articles in place. You can see a list of these on the left sidebar under “Information.” But I was so anxious to start blogging that I couldn’t wait the three weeks required to finish them all. So the reference articles are gradually being filled in. I hope that no one has been too disappointed when all they got for their click was a “coming soon” note!

I posted the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) reference article on Thursday.  I’m now working on the Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) article and hope to have it up early next week. After that, I will tackle Specific Phobias.

With all the research, writing and editing, the reference articles take about 30 hours each to produce. I could take less time, but I want to make sure that every one is as authoritative and up to date as possible. I intend to review these articles regularly and update them as I find more information that could be useful.

I have added Acute Stress Disorder and Separation Anxiety Disorder to the original reference article list. They kept popping up during my research, and although they are less common than, say, Agoraphobia, I felt that articles on them might help someone. Eventually I intend to have reference articles for all the Anxiety Disorders, even the most obscure ones.

Interesting article on OCD for you

There is an interesting article over on Gary Farrow’s WellnessOverDepression blog entitled “OCD Patients Rewire Their Brains.” It is about Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz’s treatment regime, which involves rewiring the patient’s “worry circuit.” As the article states, “The approach is part mindful awareness, learned through mediation; and part cognitive behavior therapy.”

My psychotherapist is intrigued with the mindfulness and meditation techniques coming from the Eastern traditions, and we have discussed them often. He uses many of these techniques with his patients, with good results.

I have ordered Dr. Schwartz’s book, The Mind & Brain: Neuroplasticity and Mental Force,  and will be reading and reviewing it here in the near future.

In the meantime, take a look at the article. It’s well worth your time.

An article from the New York Times

The Times had a short but informative article entitled “Extinguishing the Fear at the Roots of Anxiety” by Benedict Carey. It’s about recent research in Anxiety, with a focus on PTSD.

Coming Up

I’m finishing up a couple of books that I will be reviewing soon. I intend to make book reviews a regular part of this blog. 

Harriet Lerner’s Fear and Other Uninvited Guests: Tackling the Anxiety, Fear, and Shame That Keep Us from Optimal Living and Loving is a warm and wise book by a psychologist who suffers from Anxiety herself. It’s as much memoir as method, as she describes her own struggles with the illness. 

The other is David Burns’ When Panic Attacks: The New, Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy That Can Change Your Life. Burns is a pioneer in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) field, and this 2006 book gives his latest thoughts on using CBT to overcome Anxiety. This is a BIG book, and I am only a third of the way through, so it will be a few weeks before a review appears.

Have a great weekend!

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Yesterday a number of people trying to access this site encountered extremely slow loading times and a really, really messed up template. 

It seems that my server hosting company was having problems, which they fixed later in the day. However, you may still experience slow loading times until they get the issue entirely resolved.

Murphy’s Law found another correlate: When you start getting increased blog traffic, your template looks like you put the pieces in a hat, shook them up, and threw them at the screen!

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Have a safe and happy Fourth!

Mike

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Murphy, he of the Law, has been at it again. You know his motto, “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.” This time he’s struck my blog theme, the bit of software code that determines way the blog appears on the screen. 

After a long search, I found a theme called “Seashore” that I was very pleased with. It had a nice appearance, calm and muted, that let the posts be the most prominent thing. The picture was beautiful. It worked really well and did all the things I wanted it to do.

Then disaster struck. Shortly after I wrote yesterday’s post, the theme stopped working. Murphy must have been watching and detected complacency! All of a sudden, only the posts showed on top. The columns that had been on the right were all the way at the bottom! It looked like all the screen elements had been put in a hat, shaken, and thrown at the monitor! Being a neophyte at this sort of thing, I have no idea how to go about fixing it.

So I spent the rest of Saturday looking through hundreds of themes. I found about twenty candidates and tried them out. As Murphy would have it, only four worked correctly. They were named, “Tacky,” “Yucky,,” “Very Ugly,” and “Egregious.” None of them did all the things that “Seashore” did, but I was desperate.

You’re looking at “Very Ugly” right now. “Tacky” just did too many wrong things for it to be acceptable. “Yucky” had all these fluorescent Web 2.0 colors that hurt my eyes. “Egregious” has this big eyeball that can’t be gotten rid of (no kidding). So “Very Ugly” it is.

I intend to be working on it some this week to see if I can make it a little more functional and attractive. I don’t like the dark colors and somber look, but I guess it’ll just have to do right now. Maybe one of these days I can learn enough to fix “Seashore.”

I hope your weekend has been fun and restful, without Murphy looking over your shoulder!

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