Montreal, Thursday, May 17, 2018 - At the slightest discomfort, the slightest symptom, we turn to the Web to find a diagnosis or a miracle cure. But the information we find there isn't always accurate; not to say it's sometimes downright false. To shed some light on the subject, journalists from Québec Science, with the help of healthcare professionals and scientists, provide clear, concise answers to the 50 health questions most frequently asked of Google by Quebecers. Read all about it in the latest issue, on newsstands today!
Online self-diagnosis has become part of our daily routine. It seems that 97% of connected individuals turn to the Web to obtain information about their health before going to the doctor. But what are we looking for? And are we finding the right answers? Curious, the Québec Science team consulted Google Canada. Its experts extracted from their data the 50 health questions that generated the most interest among Quebecers, between 2012 and 2017. The result: a lot of questions about everyday ailments, such as hiccups and snoring, as well as diseases, sexual health, mental health, nutrition and sport.
«To find answers, however, you need to know where to look on the Web to avoid being fooled by incomplete, incorrect or deliberately misleading sources of information. According to some estimates, around 50% of online health-related content falls into one of these categories. Without claiming to be exhaustive, our special report is intended above all as a document to which Quebecers can quickly refer for short explanations and tried-and-tested tips», stresses Marie-Lambert Chan, the magazine's editor-in-chief.
