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Health information is easy to find. But finding reliable health information takes a little effort. Some of the health information you get from newspapers, magazines, books, TV, the Internet, and social media is up to date and trustworthy. But some is not. That's why it's important to evaluate health information for yourself.

But how can you tell the good from the bad? There are two key steps:

• Ask questions before you trust what you read or hear.
• Discuss the information you find with your health care provider before you rely on it. You may have found good information, but your provider can tell you whether it's good for you.

Asking a few questions will help you decide if you can trust a website. You can usually find most of the answers on the site's "About Us" page. If you can't find information about who runs the website, the site may not be trustworthy, and their health information may be unreliable. Some questions to ask are:

• Who runs the site? Can you trust them to provide balanced, accurate information? Trustworthy sites provide a way to contact the owners with questions or feedback. In general, you'll find good health information on websites run by:
  • Federal government agencies.
  • Medical schools.
  • Large professional or nonprofit organizations. For example, the American College of Cardiology (a professional organization) and the American Heart Association (a nonprofit) and are both reliable sources of information on heart health.
• What's the purpose of the site? Is it to:
  • Inform the public?
  • Sell products or services?
  • Promote the opinions of a person or group?
  A trustworthy website has one goal: To give you good information.
• Who pays for the site?
  • If the site is funded by ads, they should be clearly marked as advertisements. Watch out for ads designed to look like neutral health information.
  • If a business pays for the site, the health information may favor that business and its products.
• Is the health information high quality? Good health information doesn't promote one treatment over another. It gives you balanced facts based on research. So, beware of dramatic writing, promises of cures, and claims that sound too good to be true. Those could be signs of a health fraud scam. To evaluate the quality of a website's information, ask:
  • How is the information selected and reviewed to make sure it's accurate? Check the "About Us" page to see if the site has:
    • An editorial board of health experts
    • A content review process
    • A selection policy for content
    • Information about their writers' qualifications, which may be listed at the bottom of the articles
  • Where does the information come from? The content pages should have links or references to the sources of the information.
  • Is the information up to date? Content pages should include dates when the information was written, reviewed, or updated.
• How does the website use your personal information? Look for a privacy policy section to see how your personal information will be used. Don't share information about yourself unless you're comfortable with any risks involved.

When you find a website that seems to be trustworthy, don't stop there. Look to see if other reliable sites have similar health information.

A social media post may come from someone you know, but that doesn't guarantee it's good information. Many of the questions you use to evaluate a website also work for social media too. Ask where the information comes from, why it exists, and if anyone is funding it.

If you're not sure whether the information you see on social media is trustworthy, don"t share it with others.

Some news stories about medical research may not include all the facts you need to know. Ask these questions:

• Does the story say whether the research involved people or animals?
• If it was people, how many people were in the study and who were they?
• How long was the study?
• What type of study was it?
• Who paid for the research?

If you learn a few tips for understanding medical research, you'll be able to decide if a news story may apply to your health. Then you can discuss the information with your provider.

To evaluate health information in books, ask:

• How old is the book?
• Is the author an expert on the subject?
• Does the book offer different points of view or just those of the author?
• Has the book been reviewed by other experts?
• Does the book list the sources of the content?

After you evaluate health information, talk with your provider before using it to make decisions that may affect your health.

NIH: National Library of Medicine

Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly harms someone on purpose. It can be physical, social, and/or verbal. It is harmful to both the victims and the bullies, and it always involves:

• Aggressive behavior.
• A difference in power, meaning that the victim is weaker or is seen as weaker. For example, bullies may try to use physical strength, embarrassing information, or popularity to harm others.
• Repetition, meaning it happens more than once or that it probably will happen again

There are three types of bullying:

• Physical bullying involves hurting a person's body or belongings. Examples include hitting, kicking, and stealing or breaking someone's stuff.
• Social bullying (also called relational bullying) hurts someone's reputation or relationships. Some examples are spreading rumors, embarrassing someone in public, and making someone feel left out.
• Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things, including name-calling, taunting, and threatening

Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through text messages or online. It could be through emails, social media, forums, or gaming. Some examples are:

• Posting rumors on social media
• Sharing embarrassing pictures or videos online
• Sharing someone else's private information online (doxing)
• Making threats against someone online
• Creating fake accounts and posting information to embarrass someone

Certain types of cyberbullying can be illegal. The laws on cyberbullying are different from state to state.

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying, but there are some differences between the two. Cyberbullying can be:

• Anonymous - people can hide their identities when they are online or using a cell phone
• Persistent - people can send messages instantly, at any time of the day or night
• Permanent - a lot of electronic communication is permanent and public, unless it's reported and removed. A bad online reputation can affect getting into college, getting a job, and other areas of life. This applies to the bully as well.
• Hard to notice - teachers and parents may not overhear or see cyberbullying taking place

Children are more likely to be bullied if they:

• Are seen as different from their peers, such as being overweight or underweight, dressing differently, or being of a different race/ethnicity
• Are seen as weak
• Have depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem
• Don't have many friends or are less popular
• Don't socialize well with others
• Have an intellectual or developmental disability

There are two types of children who are more likely to bully others:

• Children who are well-connected to peers, have social power, are overly worried about popularity, and like to be in charge of others
• Children who are more isolated from peers, may be depressed or anxious, have low self-esteem, are easily pressured by peers, and have trouble understanding other people's feelings

There are certain factors that make someone more likely to be a bully. They include:

• Being aggressive or easily frustrated
• Having trouble at home, such as violence or bullying in the home or having uninvolved parents
• Having trouble following rules
• Seeing violence positively
• Having friends who bully others

Bullying is a serious problem that causes harm. And it doesn't just hurt the person who is being bullied; it can also be harmful for the bullies and for any kids who witness the bullying.

Kids who are bullied can have problems at school and with their mental and physical health. They are at risk for:

• Depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. These problems sometimes last into adulthood.
• Health complaints, including headaches and stomachaches
• Lower grades and test scores
• Missing and dropping out of school

Kids who bully others have a higher risk for substance use, problems in school, and violence later in life.

Kids who witness bullying are more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol and have mental health problems. They may also miss or skip school.

Often, kids who are being bullied don't report it. They may fear a backlash from the bully, or they may think that no one cares. Sometimes they feel too ashamed to talk about it. So it is important to know the signs of a bullying problem:

• Depression, loneliness, or anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Headaches, stomachaches, or poor eating habits
• Disliking school, not wanting to go to school, or getting worse grades than before
• Self-destructive behaviors, such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide
• Unexplained injuries
• Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry
• Trouble sleeping or frequent nightmares
• Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations

To help a child who is being bullied, support the child and address the bullying behavior:

• Listen and focus on the child. Learn what's been going on and show you want to help.
• Assure the child that bullying is not his/her fault
• Know that kids who are bullied may struggle with talking about it. Consider referring them to a school counselor, psychologist, or other mental health service.
• Give advice about what to do. This may involve role-playing and thinking through how the child might react if the bullying occurs again.
• Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents, and school or organization should be part of the solution.
• Follow up. Bullying may not end overnight. Make sure that the child knows that you are committed to making it stop.
• Make sure that the bully knows that his or her behavior is wrong and harms others
• Show kids that bullying is taken seriously. Make it clear to everyone that the bullying will not be tolerated.

Department of Health and Human Services

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. There are two types of tests for this virus:

• A viral test tells you if you have a current infection. Viral tests can either be rapid tests or laboratory tests:
  • Rapid tests can be done in minutes. They are often antigen tests, which look for specific proteins from the virus. Some rapid tests are self-tests which you can do at home.
  • Laboratory tests can take days to complete and include PCR tests.
• An antibody (serology) test might tell you if you had a past infection.

If you need a COVID-19 test, you can:

• Buy a self-test online or at a store. Make sure that the test you buy has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Check your state or local health department's website for information on testing in your area.
• Contact your health care provider.

Even if your COVID-19 viral test is negative (the test did not detect the virus), you should still take steps to protect yourself and others.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Before any drug can be sold in the United States, it must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is true whether it's a prescription or an over-the-counter drug. The FDA evaluates both the effectiveness and safety of a drug by looking at:

• How animal testing and human clinical trials affect the condition the drug is treating
• If any side effects occur
• How it's manufactured
• What the labeling says

The FDA also monitors a drug's safety after approval. Health care providers and patients can report drug side effects through the FDA's MedWatch website.

For you, drug safety means buying online only from licensed pharmacies located in the United States. It also means knowing how to take your medicines correctly.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is abuse that happens in a romantic relationship. The intimate partner could be a current or former spouse or dating partner. IPV is also known as domestic violence.

IPV may include different types of abuse, such as:

• Physical violence, when a person hurts or tries to hurt a partner by hitting, kicking, or using another type of physical force.
• Sexual violence which involves forcing or attempting to force a partner to take part in sexual activity when the partner does not or cannot consent. The sexual activity could include things like sex acts, sexual touching, or non-physical sexual events (e.g., sexting).
• Emotional abuse, which includes threats, name-calling, put-downs, and humiliation. It can also involve controlling behavior, such as telling a partner how to act or dress and not letting them see family or friends.
• Economic abuse, also called financial abuse, which involves controlling access to money.
• Stalking, which is repeated, unwanted contact that causes fear or concern for the safety of the partner. This can include watching or following the partner. The stalker may send repeated, unwanted phone calls or texts.

It is hard to know exactly how common IPV is because it is often not reported.

But we do know that anyone can be affected by it. IPV can happen to anyone. It affects people with all levels of income and education.

If you think that a loved one might be experiencing IPV, watch for these signs:

Does your friend or loved one:

• Have unexplained cuts or bruises?
• Avoid friends, family, and favorite activities?
• Make excuses for their partner's behavior?
• Look uncomfortable or fearful around their partner?

Does your friend or loved one's partner:

• Yell at or make fun of them?
• Try to control them by making all the decisions?
• Check up on them at work or school?
• Force them to do sexual things they don't want to do?
• Threaten to hurt themself if the partner wants to break up?

Your safety is the most important concern. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

If you are not in immediate danger, you can:

• Get medical care if you have been injured or sexually assaulted.
• Call a helpline for free, anonymous help. You can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or 800-787-3224 (TTY). You can also chat with them through their website or through text by texting START to 88788.
• Find out where to get help in your community. Contact local organizations that can help you.
• Make a safety plan to leave. Intimate partner violence usually does not get better. Think about a safe place for you to go and all of the things that you will need when you leave.
• Save the evidence. Keep evidence of abuse, such as pictures of your injuries or threatening emails or texts. Make sure that it is in a safe place the abuser cannot access.
• Talk to someone you trust, such as a family member, a friend, a co-worker, or a spiritual leader.
• Consider getting a restraining order to protect yourself.

Let your loved one know that being treated this way isn't healthy and that they are not to blame. You should:

• Call 911 if there is immediate danger.
• Watch for the signs of abuse. Learn about the signs and keep track of the ones that you see.
• Find out about local resources. Get the addresses and phone numbers of some local resources in your community. Then you'll be able to share the information if the person is ready for it.
• Set up a time to talk. Make sure you can have your conversation in a safe, private place. Your loved one's partner may have access to his or her cell phone or computer, so be careful about sharing information over text or email.
• Be specific about why you are worried. Describe the behaviors that concern you. Be as specific as possible when explaining why you are worried.
• Plan for safety. If your loved one is ready to leave an abusive partner, help make a plan for getting out of the relationship as safely as possible. An intimate partner violence counselor can help with making a safety plan.
• Be patient and do not judge. You should talk about your concerns with your loved one, but you need to understand that they may not be ready to talk about it. Let them know that you're available to talk at any time, and that you will listen without judging them.