Know the Science: Finding Health Information Online

Who Runs and Pays for the Website?

• Any reliable health-related website should make it easy for you to learn who’s responsible for the site. For example, on the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) website, each major page identifies NCCIH and, because NCCIH is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides a link to the NIH home page. You should be able to find out who runs a website and its purpose on the “About Us” page.

• A web address (such as NCCIH’s) that ends in “.gov” means it’s a government-sponsored site; “.edu” indicates an educational institution; “.org” usually means a noncommercial organization, and “.com” a commercial organization. Some “.org” sites belong to organizations that promote an agenda; their content may be biased.

• Who pays for the site? Does the site sell advertising? Is it sponsored by a company that sells dietary supplements, drugs, or other products or services? Confirm any information you find on a site that sells products with an independent site that doesn’t sell products.