Evaluating a Health Promotion Website Essay

Health breeding Technology ( shine) has been introduced into the National Health Service (NHS) in order to make better the quality, efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness of the delivery of health c atomic number 18. The application of computerized teaching technology in health cargon settings has so far contend a vital role in improving the accessibility of info and has replaced more labour intensive and unproductive methods (Shekelle and Goldzweig, 2009).The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2009) keep that that nurses skills, experience and be create mustiness be spotterd by the shell for sale indorse. Often this take the stand is found on the mesh and many sources of info can be inaccurate so a good standard of critical evaluation is required (Kim, Eng, Deering et al 1998).To value the quality and reliability of a chosen website the use of a good example can be helpful such as Roberts (2012) 5 Cs website tool. This framework evaluates five atomic number 18as credibility, currency, fill, construction and clarity. The website The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RC Psych, 2012 a) was chosen to be evaluated because as a moral health nursing student this willing develop an awareness of how information technology is implemented and applied to practice in health care. Addition completelyy, by utilize Roberts (2012) 5 Cs framework to critically evaluate this website, cognition and skills of the quality and reliability of HIT will be acquired.Main BodyRC Psych is the professional and educational government activity for psychiatrist in the UK as nearly as being a registered charity (RC Psych, 2012 b). Their website is aimed at improving the lives of individuals touched by psychic illness through educating the public. They claim to be at the head of developing and promoting topper practice in mental health services through their education, teaching and research projects. Additionally they are involved in the publishing of the futur e(a) world-class journals British Journal of Psychiatry, The Psychiatrist, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment and world-wide Psychiatry (RC Psych, 2012 c).CredibilityHaving gained a royal charter this evinces us that the face has been recognised by the Queen and seconded by the government to call itself a registered organisation of the highest regard. As soild by the Privy Council Office (2012) organisations tending(p) a Royal Charter must have a satisfying record of achievement. 75% of its members should be qualified to at least foremost degree level and the work completed by the organisation must be in the interest of the public.Professor turncock Tyrer is named as the Editor, of the website, and is verbalise to be responsible for the editor in chiefial and merchandise aspects of its publications in sum total to the production of their online continuing professional development (CPD) e-learning resources and its sales and marketing (RC Psych, 2012 d). After researching Peter Tyrer it is evident that he is highly qualified within the field of mental health and is a professor of community psychiatry for the Department of Medicine, within the Imperial College London (Imperial College London, 2012).The website offers a vast amount of information more or less mental health including conditions, diagnoses, treatments and types of therapies. The advice fork overd is produced in the form of online leaflets for the use of the public as well as professionals. Within the website there is no evidence to show that the same specific authors are utilise regularly for their create articles however, at the end of each article the producer, editor and sometimes an author are named in addition to any expert that has been involved in the qualification of it.All these leaflets are produced by the RC Psych Public Education Editorial panel that is responsible for producing 300 educational leaflets. These leaflets have been accredited by the NHS education Standar d and subsequently gained numerous awards (Byrne, 2011). They have achieved Plain English and BMA tolerant role information awards and have received consistently positive feedback for the web versions. The editor of these leaflets is Dr Phillip Timms who is currently employed as a consultant Psychiatrist for the atomic number 16 London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust as well as a senior lecturer in psychiatry at Kings College, London (BMJ Masterclasses, 2012).This sites web address shows that it is delivered by a UK based academic body as it has an ac.uk URL. This confirms their credibility and reassures the subscriber that they are qualified experts able to give advice in this field (Roberts, 2010).Combining all this it is apparent that the producers of the website have appropriate qualifications and expertise to offer advice in regards to mental health and supports the credibility of the organisation and the website. Some of these points also link into the unalike five Cs for example, the awards that the leaflets have received show that the bailiwick and clarity of their work has been assessed and found to be of an acceptable standard.CurrencyWhen using a website for personal development reasons or to recommend to a patient the information being accessed should be the most current evidence available that has been proven in practice. In regards to the advice allow ford on the website RC Psych (2012 e) states that they endeavour to update it every two to three years. This is reflected in the articles by showing the date the information was last updated and the date it will be re overtakeed in the future. Additionally RC Psych (2012 d) state that their information derives from the best evidence available at the time of committal to writing and is updated regularly to reflect any changes in knowledge.A nonher way to desex the currency of information is to consider the references used to back it up (Roberts, 2010). If the sources are dated then what you are reading may non coiffure from the most current research so there may be more up to date evidence elsewhere. The dates of the references used through turn out the website are quite varied however, they do contain many recently published articles and up to date clinical guidelines so this suggests that they are committed to producing up to date information and evidence. This is seen in a leaflet on picture where RC Psyche (2012 f) cites a recently updated guideline by the National nominate for Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2009) which looks at the treatment and management of depression in adults. The currency and credibility of the website can also be reflected in its content and therefore this should also be assessed during the evaluation process.ContentAs well as being credible and current the content must be assessed for its objectivity, accuracy and completeness (Roberts, 2010). The content of a website can be judged by assessing what the website aims to achieve. This could b e selling a product, persuading the audience to believe in something or to provide the reader with unbiassed and up to date information on a specific affair (Roberts, 2010). RC Psych (2012 a) profess that they aim to improve the lives of individuals with a mental health illness. They aim to do this by educating people through reservation information and advice available on their website. This would indicate that it falls under the grade of providing unbiased and up to date information to the public.The articles on the website are indite in the third person so prevents the author from expressing personal legal opinion. moreover the leaflets produced provide links to discordant other sources of information on the topic being discussed. This encourages further reading which provides a complete and balanced view preventing bias and, where treatment is recommended, allows the reader to make an informed choice (Roberts, 2010). The references used within the website are taken from w ell known and respected sources that provide current and acknowledged recommendations such as NICE, the Department of Health (DOH) and various field related journals. This indicates that the website seeks to provide and maintain up to date, accurate and unbiased information that concurs with information available in books and journals on the same subjects. anatomical structureThe construction of a website, for example, the layout, colours, fonts, sizes and ease of access can determine whether or not a reader believes the website is of good quality or not (Roberts, 2010). A study by Lindgaard, Fernandes and Dudek et al. (2006) found that the introductory 50 milliseconds that the reader is exposed to a website can cause the reader to form an opinion as to whether a website is worth using or not. On first impression, the website in question looks colourful and professional. The eye is drawn to the bolder writing that states the websites role and there are minimal graphics to distract the reader from this. in that location is a lot of information on the home page of the website and could be considered cluttered, however it is divided into clear sections and appears well organised, giving clear subheadings which guide the reader to their areas of interest easily. The main colour used for the website is grey and presents a professional look. It is subtle unless effective in breaking up different sections of the website without being obtrusive. The font size is varied throughout but mainly of a larger size making the website easy to read. in that location is no option for the reader to change the font sizing or colour which could cause some difficulty as it is not likely to suit everyone with one font size, style and colour (Roberts, 2010).As this is a registered charitable organisation it would be unfair to expect them not to get ahead money making offers. There are two links to cloud books that are published by the royal college of psychiatrists and an optio n to support them in future development projects. They have presented these links as the last things you would fuck off across on the website. Because of where they are situated it comes across to the reader that they are more interested in providing free and accessible information to modernize the pubic over making money.ClarityClarity is some other definitive area to consider when evaluating a website. Due to our continually growing multi-cultural hunting lodge it is important that websites cater for all free radicals in society and not clean the English readers. One part of the website caters for professionals working in psychiatry and another to the public wanting to learn more about mental illness. some(prenominal) sections are presented and written in a way that is understandable to the popular public. In the public section they offer their advice in 21 different verbiages in addition to visual aids using BSL sign language as well as audio pod casts and printable ver sions.This shows that they have made an effort to cater for diverse cultures and needs. Unfortunately it appears that they have not taken into account the needs of people with dyslexia. Approximately two one million million million people in the UK population are affected by dyslexia of which rough 35 to 40 percent experience visual disturbances when reading (Dyslexia Action, 2012). The British Dyslexia Association, (2012) states that the reading ability of an individual with dyslexia can be negatively affected by bright white backgrounds and the use of too much text. By changing the background to an off white colour and spreading out the information over larger areas this would cater for yet another group in society.ConclusionHaving the ability to access health information via the internet has given nurses the capacity to constantly improve their knowledge base and skills wise to(p) that they are delivering the best possible care derived from the best available evidence. The RC Psych website not only offers nurses a place to go and build on their knowledge and skills but it also provides them with a safe, reliable and easily accessible knowledge base that they can confidently refer their patients to. The evaluation of this website has shown that the website contains quality, reliable evidence and could be recommended to anyone interested in the field of mental illness. In addition to this the use of the five Cs evaluation tool has provided a great foundation to the development of evaluating skills. It has given an opportunity to discover that the evidence being accessed is suitable for developing personal practice and to help produce patients and is accepted within the NMC code of conduct (Roberts, 2010).