Archived Talks

University of Pittsburgh Department of Biomedical Informatics Lecture Series

“A First Look at Vertical Health Search Engines ”

Valerie Monaco, PhD, MHCI
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Informatics

Abstract: It is estimated that on any given day 8 million American adults search online for health-related information. Although approximately 75% of all online searches are carried out using Google or Yahoo, a new generation of "vertical search engines" are being developed to tap into the health search market. Little is known about these emerging vertical search engines. We have undertaken a review of seven of these consumer-oriented health search engines. Drawing upon expertise in consumer health informatics, medical librarianship, and human-computer interaction, we examined the visual design and special features of these engines as well as the quality of the results returned for each engine. The preliminary results from this review will be presented and future directions will be discussed.

Friday, March 21, 2008
11:00 AM to 12:00 NOON
Parkvale Building (200 Meyran Avenue), Classroom M-184 (on the mezzanine level) or via video conference in Cancer Pavilion, Room 341

For more information: jxc3@pitt.edu or 412.647.7113