Comparing Web search engine performance in searching consumer health information: evaluation and recommendations

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Information Science

Background:

• Accessing reliable consumer health information online presents challenges for both health professionals and the general public.
• The internet offers vast resources, but identifying relevant and trustworthy health content requires effective search strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the performance of seven major search engines for retrieving consumer health information.
• To evaluate search engines based on content relevancy, system features, and overall attributes.
• To provide guidance on effective search engine selection and search formulation for consumer health topics.

Main Methods:

• A systematic comparison of seven search engines using representative consumer health topics.
• Evaluation of search results based on content relevancy and accuracy.
• Analysis of system features and attributes of each search engine.

Main Results:

• Significant variations were observed in the performance of search engines regarding content relevancy and feature sets.
• Strengths and weaknesses of each search engine were identified for specific consumer health search tasks.
• The study provides a framework for evaluating and selecting appropriate search engines for health information retrieval.

Conclusions:

• Effective selection of search engines and strategic search formulation are crucial for accessing reliable consumer health information.
• Librarians and laypersons can benefit from understanding search engine capabilities to navigate online health resources more efficiently.
• Further research into search engine algorithms and user information-seeking behaviors in health contexts is warranted.