Quackwatch
Quackwatch is a US non-profit online provider of information and statements on theoretical and practical approaches, including diagnostic and therapeutic methods, as well as drugs , which are predominantly attributed to alternative medicine . The name derives from the English Quackwatch quack from which the terms " quack " or " quacks can be translated". The operators see Quackwatch as an international network of people "who are concerned about health-related fraud, myths, fashions, errors and misconduct".
The organization was initially called the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud and was founded in Pennsylvania.
background
Quackwatch is operated by Quackwatch Inc. The initiator is Stephen Barrett from Pittsboro, a retired American psychiatrist who, according to self-reported, is supported by more than 150 exclusively volunteer authors from various health professions. Barret is also one of the founders of California's National Council Against Health Fraud initiative . His Quackwatch initiative was founded in 1969 as the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud in Allentown, Pennsylvania and renamed "Quackwatch" in 1997, due to the success of the 1996 website Quackwatch.org .
aims
The goals are:
- "Fight" fraud in the health sector with information
- Research claims of medical effectiveness of controversial remedies
- Disclose or report illegal distribution channels for medical products in the United States
- Offer help to fraudulent patients
Content
The websites contain journalistic texts and statements on various controversial remedies or medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as well as on the respective propagators and manufacturers. Many of the texts are by Barrett himself. Quackwatch works with other American online services, such as Homeowatch (against homeopathy ), Credential Watch (against title mills ), and Chirobase (against chiropractic ).
reception
Quackwatch is rated as a useful and trustworthy source of information for consumers, e.g. From the United States Department of Agriculture , the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education , The Lancet , JAMA , and other journals. The general press, particularly US journalists, also frequently cite Quackwatch.com as a reference.
Critics criticized the lack of scientific detail in the Quackwatch texts, the focus on a single lead author, and the lack of formal peer review .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quackwatch Mission Statement
- ↑ Quackwatch. Quackwatch.com: Brief biography of Stephen Barrett
- ↑ http://www.quackwatch.org/09Advisors/advbd.html
- ^ Pennsylvania Department of State - Corporations
- ↑ Fraud and Nutrition Misinformation, US Department of Agriculture ( Memento of the original from March 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ W Steven Pray: Ethical, Scientific, and Educational Concerns With Unproven Medications. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006 (70): 1-15
- ↑ Marilynn Larkin: Medical quackery Squashers on the web. The Lancet 1998 (351): 1520-2
- ↑ Link list of the JAMA
- ^ Forbes.com: best of the web
- ↑ US News & World Report: The Best of The Web Gets Better ( Memento of the original from May 24, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Nguyen-Khoa, B: Selected Web Site Reviews - Quackwatch.com. The Consultant Pharmacist, July 1999 ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Hufford DJ: Symposium article: Evaluating Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Limits of Science and Scientists. J Law, Medicine & Ethics 2003 (31): 198-212
