[ti:How Effective Are Online Symptom Checkers?] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Many internet tools seek to identify what disease a person has [00:07.24]based on symptoms described by the user. [00:13.32]A new study finds these online symptom checkers are rarely correct and could be harmful. [00:23.84]Australian researchers at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia did the study. [00:33.52]Their results were published in the Medical Journal of Australia. [00:39.28]Online symptom checkers are commonly found through major search engines. [00:46.28]Google, for example, gets an estimated 70,000 health-related searches every minute. [00:56.20]The study examined 36 international internet-based symptom checkers. [01:03.84]The tools ask a series of questions about the symptoms users are experiencing [01:12.60]and then use that information to identify conditions the users might suffer from. [01:20.12]Some tools also advise users on whether to seek medical attention. [01:28.20]The study found that overall, symptom checkers produced the correct diagnosis [01:36.04]as the first result 36 percent of the time. [01:42.00]The tools predicted the right diagnosis within the top three results 52 percent of the time. [01:51.04]Michella Hill is a student at Edith Cowan and a leader of the research. [01:59.16]She says the findings demonstrate why users should be very careful [02:05.20]about using the systems for diagnostic purposes. [02:11.52]"While it may be tempting to use these tools [02:15.28]to find out what may be causing your symptoms, [02:18.92]most of the time they are unreliable at best [02:23.28]and can be dangerous at worst," Hill said. [02:28.40]She said one of the main problems with online symptom checkers [02:33.84]is that they depend on too little information. [02:37.72]"They do not look at the whole picture [02:41.24]-- they don't know your medical history or other symptoms." [02:46.16]Hill added: "For people who lack health knowledge, [02:50.36]they may think the advice they're given is accurate, [02:54.32]or that their condition is not serious, when it may be." [03:00.84]The Australian study did find the symptom checkers produced more accurate results [03:08.36]for advice on when and where users should seek medical attention. [03:15.44]The advice for emergency and serious medical cases was correct about 60 percent of the time. [03:25.04]That number dropped to 30-40 percent accuracy for non-emergencies. [03:33.04]Hill said she does think online symptom tools [03:37.20]can effectively fill a need in the modern health system. [03:42.08]"These sites are not a replacement for going to the doctor, [03:46.76]but they can be useful in providing more information [03:51.52]once you do have an official diagnosis," she said. [03:57.48]Internet searches related to information about the new coronavirus [04:03.68]topped all others in recent months on Google, the Google Trends website reports. [04:11.40]Many users have also turned to Google for information on virus symptoms. [04:20.80]The top-searched coronavirus symptom by far [04:25.00]over the past four months was fever, Google Trends shows. [04:31.28]This was followed by sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of taste and loss of smell. [04:40.08]Google also provides a tool for users to check their symptoms [04:45.52]related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. [04:52.24]The company says the tool is designed "for informational purposes only," [04:58.88]and not meant to provide a medical diagnosis. [05:04.40]The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this month [05:10.88]it is planning to launch its own symptom checking tool. [05:16.40]A WHO official told the Reuters news agency the wireless device tool [05:23.48]is expected to be popular in countries lacking their own development resources. [05:31.40]Engineers and designers – including former Google and Microsoft employees [05:38.20]– have been volunteering their time to develop the WHO app, Reuters reported. [05:46.40]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM