Study: Thai Health Sites Are Unreliable

Thailand’s Health Systems Research Institute has said most of the country’s 1,888 health Web sites are unreliable and potentially dangerous.

HSRI researchers found that 99 percent of the Web sites providing health information did not provide correct information, the Bangkok Post reported Saturday.

Many Web sites provide only general messages regarding health for readers without giving sources or references. They can quickly give information to readers but they can mislead the public too, said project team leader Sukanya Prajusilp.

The study said many health sites failed to cite sources for information used and did not warn visitors to exercise discretion. Sukanya said the sites also failed to say when the information was released and did not include the latest developments on the issue.

Sukanya said many of the sites may have been created to sell health and pharmaceutical products and some carried misleading information and advertisements without authorization.