Australian parents don't trust online child healthcare information

 02-Mar-16, ABC News

The latest report on the sources used by parents for child healthcare information has revealed online platforms are used frequently, yet not trusted.

Image: ABC: Sophie Kesteven

It calls for better understanding of the barriers to this trust, in order to ease the burden on other health care service providers like emergency departments.

The study of over 2,000 parents found 61 per cent used websites, blogs and online forums to source health information for their kids in the last six months. This was despite only 6 per cent reporting they trusted the advice "a lot".

The report said identifying why parents do not currently trust online sources will be valuable for the development of the healthcare sector and its future allocation of funds.

"Online sources have the potential to be a valuable resource for Australian parents and to possibly aid in alleviating the burden of use on other healthcare services, such as hospitals and emergency departments," the report said.

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