Say what? Evaluating pet health information
By Christie Keith
August 4, 2007
Being slightly obsessive, I belong to approximately 4,358,787 pet-related email lists, many of them about pet health issues. And I guarantee on any given day, I see at least a dozen examples of people spreading information that — and I know you’ve missed this — makes my head explode.
I want to sit down with them and take their hand and gaze deep into their eyes and ask one simple question: Are you insane Why did you believe that when you read it?
I don’t know how hard people think it is to start a blog, email list, or website (or, actually, a print magazine), but it’s not hard. Just because you read something doesn’t mean it’s true. So, how do you know?
It’s the Source, not the Medium
I blog and write about pet health on the web, and edit a group of pet websites, and I frequently get irritated at veterinarians and others who sneer at pet owners when they ask about information they read online. There are good and bad sources of information online; some of it’s no more or less reliable than what a dog owner will say to you at the dog park. Some of it’s the online version of a peer-reviewed veterinary medical journal. So the fact that you read it online is irrelevant. The source of the information, and its innate reliability, is what you need to evaluate.
And here’s a hint: When you ask your vet about something you read online, it’s better to say, “I saw in Kirk’s Current Veterinary Therapy that new research on feline vaccines suggests…” than, “I read on the web that…” And this has the added advantage of training you to look for the source of information you read.
Pretty is as Pretty Does
There is a lot of information on the Internet, and a lot of it is well-organized, searchable, well-written, and totally outdated, incorrect, or based on opinion rather than facts. So just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it’s reliable. However, usually if a site is badly spelled and punctuated, not easily searched, not well-organized, and hard to navigate, the information is less likely to be reliable.
Follow the Money
One place NOT to get health information for your pets — or yourself? Press releases from someone trying to sell you something. Always seek out information on new drugs, treatments, and other health-related products and services from veterinary schools, peer-reviewed journals, and similar sources who don’t have a financial axe to grind.
Think Critically
Now, those who were here for pet food recall are looking at me now going, ummm, Christie? We know you’re sick right now and we don’t want to pick a fight, but if we’d waited for veterinary colleges and peer-reviewed journals to know about the pet food recall… well, you get the drift.
And that’s true, too. There are times when we need to act with only partial information. One of the challenges Gina and I had during the pet food recall was to make sure that we didn’t publish any information that was incorrect, and we succeeded; we never once had to correct or retract any factual errors in our coverage. But this is part of the process of evaluation I’m talking about. I wouldn’t want people to believe what we said was true simply because we said it. I’d want them to believe it was likely to be accurate because we have a track record of correct factual reporting.
One of my favorite veterinary researchers and authors, Dr. Susan Wynn, used to sign her emails with a quote that said, “Unanswered questions aren’t as dangerous as unquestioned answers.” Or, as the bumpersticker says, “It’s good to have an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out.”
I personally look critically at all information I read, even the stuff in peer-reviewed journals and from veterinary colleges. And I take what I get told at the dog park — and on blogs — with a grain of salt. But there is useful, accurate information all over the place, and having a functioning b.s. detector along with an open mind is a good combination.
GREETINGS…
I tell my friends this often, that I don’t go 100% by what ANYONE suggests. I research, I ask, I read, I put it all together, I think about it, I use my instincts, and then, in the end, I go either my most trusted source (a person), or I use the majority answer, or, I play it safe, such as with garlic, and avoid something that has had ANY bad reviews. Just what I do.
BLESSED BE.
WOLFIN )O(
Comment by WOLFIN — August 4, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
Can I use this column next time I teach my college freshman composition students how to evaluate internet sources? Shoot. Can I show it to my senior English majors? Somewhere along the line, people learned how to look stuff up on the web, but they never learned to look at it critically.
Comment by Debbie — August 4, 2007 @ 10:46 pm
LOL, of course, Debbie! Thank you!
Christie
Comment by Christie Keith — August 5, 2007 @ 12:28 am
A fantastic post, Christie! Guess I should leave town more often. :) Commenting via my Treo (this text-messaging is slow!) … Gina, in San Diego
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 5, 2007 @ 6:31 am
I want the bumper sticker (open minds/falling brains) for my truck — does someone have a link as to where one can purchase it?
Comment by Dorene — August 5, 2007 @ 10:05 am
I love the quote and the bumper sticker!! I’m going to use them as my screensaver at work.
The pet food recall also taught me to question information and I’m passing that on to others too. Thank goodness this was the website I chose to follow, then and still do now.
Comment by Sindy — August 5, 2007 @ 11:15 am
I thought the printed word and the studies in the newspaper were the correct guides.
In learning to trust my own judgement more in evaluating sources, learning from actual experiences, and just good common sense that I am endowed with, I now make better choices.
As to pet foods, I still stick to smaller operations.
As to vets, I choose those that want to help animals and love them.
As to medicines, I am the most careful and spend a lot of time seeing if the science makes sense.
Of course I make mistakes, but less now as I put more thought into evaluating the source.
Comment by Evelyn — August 5, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
Super post, Christie!
Comment by PM Hill — August 5, 2007 @ 10:05 pm
That’s a whole lot of E-mails to go through everyday! I, too, am a victim of what I call I.I.O. (Inbox Information Overload) but I try to depend on my journalism skills to keep me in check and weed out the good from the bad.
Comment by Molly — August 6, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Consider the source is always wise advice.
I tell people to think about the average 25% percent of a vets income that comes from selling pet food when they talk to their vet.
You see, I don’t think anyone has to worry about getting respect from the vet anymore, I think the vets need to worry about getting respect from pet parents.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 7, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
I would love 10 or 20 of the best medical websites/and or blogs for dogs. I usually ask my daughter, a wonderful veterinarian, but sometimes I come across news that she has not heard. I do subscribe to Dolittler.
Thanks
Eliza
Comment by Eliza — August 7, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
Great post and I just went on a little rant on one of my blogs but not so indepth. Guess I am going to have to link it here!
Comment by Diana Guerrero — August 8, 2007 @ 8:45 am