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Credible Sources of Health Information

If you or someone in your family is diagnosed with an illness you most likely want to know more about it. Where do you go for information? The first source may be the internet.

How can you know you are accessing valid accurate, credible information?

Look at the list of seven Questions to Ask Before Trusting a Website published by the National Institutes of Health. Pay particular attention to number one to learn the difference between credible agencies or commercial websites.

It is important to know the source of information. Is it based on scientific evidence or people’s stories and opinions?

Accessing Information from Home

There are a variety of resources available for you to access valid health information and services from your home, your school, and in the community.

Your parents or caring adults can be a first source for information or knowing where to get help for you. Credible websites, as mentioned earlier, and credible phone apps offer information about available health resources. There are crisis center hotlines for sexual assault victims or potential suicide victims.

Crisis hotlines are phone numbers you can call for immediate help with mental health problems.

Lifeline, a free and confidential hotline, is one example. To answer some questions you may have about hotlines, visit Talk to Someone Now. Scroll down and read what happens when you call Lifeline.

Examples of Credible Online Resources

Here are some other examples of helpful resources. Notice when you visit these sites that their URLs website addresses include .gov or .org . Although not every .gov or .org website is similarly trustworthy, seeing this in a site’s URL can help you determine whether its information is credible.

School Counselors

Your school counselor is available not only for academic advice but to help you with whatever information and resources you may need. Counselors typically help students with:

  • bullying issues
  • mental health issues and stress overload
  • providing information and connecting students to needed resources

DASH Division of Adolescent and School Health is one example of how agencies such as CDC work with schools and youth-serving organizations to help teenagers develop positive health behaviors. Take a quick look at DASH for fast health facts about teenagers and preventative behaviors.

School Nurses

School nurses provide health care in the school setting.

School nurses are trained to assist you with mental, physical, social, and emotional issues. They can provide pamphlets and health information about questions you may have. They give advice about screenings and testing for STDs and other infections.

You can go to your school nurse for your personal health needs.

School Resource Officers

School Resource Officers (SROs) are on campus to promote safety and prevent crime. They are also there to assist you with personal needs.

Resource officers make presentations to educate students on how to safely handle issues such as risk situations, bullying, or dating violence.

Most resource officers set up hotlines for the students at their school to privately report school or personal safety issues.

You can go to your resource officer about your health and safety needs. They are trained to help and guide you to other resources you may need.

Credibility of School Resources

These resources available for you at school are credible sources for information.

According to CDC DASH, “School Health works to promote environments where youth can gain fundamental health knowledge and skills, establish healthy behaviors for a lifetime, connect to health services, and avoid becoming pregnant or infected with HIV or STDs.”

Community Resources

Your community has reliable resources for you to obtain valid health information. Reach out to these resources for answers to your questions and to address your personal health needs. They provide information, medical services, and guidance for whatever healthcare you may need.

  • Doctors
  • Dentists and dental hygienists
  • Health Department
  • Health clinics
  • Mental health agencies
  • Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT)

Having access to valid health information, products and services equips you to enhance and improve the quality of your health.