Use of a search model to enhance patient education in a clinical setting

Many paths lead toward the goal of safe, high-quality health care. One component of this goal is to obtain current and relevant information for client care. Patients, as well as health care providers, use the World Wide Web to find information. With the growing number of documents on the Web, an organized approach to searching fosters locating desired material, evaluating authenticity and accuracy, and applying the material to the patient, student, or practitioner population, as appropriate. This article explores the use of a search model in a nurse-managed clinic for homeless and lower income patients. Nurses in a wide variety of settings use the search process described to locate useful health care information.