Medicine transparent
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| Know what's right | |
| Independent health information | |
| languages | German |
| editorial staff | Danube University Krems , Cochrane Austria |
| On-line | 2011 |
| http://www.medizin-transparent.at | |
The website Medizin-transparent.at checks medical claims from advertising, print and online media as well as common health myths for their scientific durability. She publishes the results in articles that are easy to understand for laypeople. Most of the articles are based on reader inquiries. The non-commercial website is operated by Cochrane Austria and Danube University Krems .
Conception
The aim of Medizin transparent is to provide easily understandable health information free of charge that is based solely on scientific facts. This is to enable patients and interested readers to make decisions about their health based on objective information.
In terms of content, medicine transparently focuses primarily on inquiries from readers. They can send topics and allegations to the scientific editorial team for review free of charge, and the website then makes the results public.
The background to the project is the principle of evidence-based medicine . This means that all published health information is based solely on current scientific studies. Two permanent editors with scientific and journalistic training as well as freelance health journalists and medical professionals are currently working on the project.
Medicine transparent is a non-commercial project and free from advertising or commercial conflicts of interest. Financing is provided by the Austrian Federal Health Agency and the Lower Austrian Health and Social Fund NÖGUS .
Scientific background and quality assurance
A comprehensive search in scientific literature databases such as PubMed , the Cochrane Library or Embase forms the basis for a contribution on Medizin transparent . We are looking for all scientific studies that deal with the respective question, regardless of the results of these studies. The studies found in the course of this literature search are carefully assessed for their scientific quality. Subsequently, the scientific evidence of the available study data is assessed according to objective criteria.
Accordingly, the evidence for the health claim made is assessed on a 4-point scale from unclear (0 of 3 points) to high (3 of 3 points). In order to ensure objectivity, this evaluation is always cross-checked by another scientific editor and a trained medical professional.
Medizin transparent follows the HONcode ( Health On the Net Foundation ) standard for transparent health information on the Internet.
history
The original idea for medicine transparent goes back to the Behind the Headlines project of the British National Health Service , which has been examining the scientific studies behind medical newspaper reports in detail since 2001. In the beginning, Medizin was transparently conceived as a media watch blog for health content in Austrian media. However, since October 2014, the site has also been reviewing health claims from non-Austrian media, advertising, other sources on the Internet and popular health myths.
Since September 2013 the Verein für Konsumenteninformation (VKI) has been printing selected medical articles transparently in its monthly magazine Konsument . In October 2014, Medizin transparent published the book 100 Medicine Myths in cooperation with the VKI .
Media analysis
A 2015 study analyzed 219 health claims from media reports that were transparently reviewed for medicine between 2011 and 2014 . A total of 990 reports from Austrian online and print media were examined for their scientific validity. According to this, a large part (59.5%) of these media reports gave the study situation in a strongly distorted (exaggerated or understated) way, only 10.8% reported in accordance with the actual state of science. The tabloid media reported only slightly less distorted than quality media; the authors could not determine a difference between online and print media. The authors rate the result as an indication of media manipulation through commercial interests of the healthcare industry.
Media coverage
Since its launch in June 2011, medicine has been reported transparently in the Austrian media . By May 2015, the project had been mentioned over a hundred times in Austrian daily newspapers, weekly magazines, online media, TV and radio as well as in specialist magazines (examples in the press review). Selected articles have been published on Kurier.at since May 2015 .
Web links
- Medizin-transparent.at
- Medicine myths in the Kurier.at fact check , May 2, 2015
- Science versus Myths Die Presse, October 18, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ medizin-transparent.at , editorial team.
- ↑ a b Niederösterr. Patient advocacy expert letter on Medizin-Transparent.at (accessed on May 5, 2015)
- ↑ medizin-transparent.at Evaluation criteria for the scientific evidence (accessed on May 5, 2015)
- ^ Health on the Net Foundation , HON Code Medizin-transparent.at
- ^ NHS Behind the Headlines
- ↑ Konsument.at , Series Fact Check Medicine .
- ↑ Matuschak, Kerschner, Wipplinger: 100 medical myths. Published by the Association for Consumer Information, Vienna 2014, ISBN 978-3-99013-039-1 .
- ↑ B. Kerschner, J. Wipplinger, I. Klerings, G. Gartlehner: How evidence-based do print and online media report in Austria? A Quantitative Analysis In: Journal of Evidence, Education and Quality in Health Care . 2015; 109 (4-5): 341-9; doi: 10.1016 / j.zefq.2015.05.014
- ↑ Press review Medizin-transparent.at (accessed on May 5, 2015)
- ^ Kurier.at medical myths series