People searching online for health advice often reject sites giving high quality information in favour of those with a human touch, a study suggests.
Researchers found people use an initial weeding out process to deal with the minefield of health information of variable quality available.

However, this tends to mean they quickly eliminate most NHS and drug company websites, they said.

The study was funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council.

The researchers examined the internet search strategies of people who wanted to find specific health information on topics such as high blood pressure, the menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

They found that many websites were dismissed at quite amazing speeds.

Lead researcher Professor Pamela Briggs, from Northumbria University, said: "One thing that really put people off was advertising, so people clicked off drug company websites straight away.

"Generally, the medical information on drug company sites is very accurate but people question the authors' motivation and agenda.

"The issue of impartiality is quite crucial in building trust."

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SOURCE: BBC News Online