WHSL Evaluating Websites for Health Information: Currency

The following criteria can be used to evaluate web sites:

• Authority
• Accuracy
• Objectivity
• Currency
• Coverage

Work through these examples to determine whether the content of these sites is current:

How up to date is the information that is provided? In healthcare, information becomes outdated quickly, and outdated information may be hazardous to patient care. To determine if the web page offers current information:

• Look for an update or posting date somewhere on the page
• If you cannot locate a "last updated" date, look for copyright information, indicated as ©2011, for example.

If you are unable to find an update or a copyright date, look for some other indication that the site has been updated recently. If there are links to other pages, for example, click several and see if they are still valid. If the links are not being maintained it may be an indication that the other content may be out of date as well.