DES MOINES – Meredith Corp. announced Monday that it has acquired the consumer health search engine Healia, which specializes in finding health information online.

Jack Griffin, Meredith’s publishing group president, said the move will help Meredith meet the growing demand for health information, particularly by women.

“The acquisition of Healia is an important step in our strategic initiatives to expand our reach in the women’s health market and to provide content-focused services online,” Griffin said in a news release.

Bellevue, Wash.-based Healia allows professionals and consumers to personalize their searches to attain high-quality information online, Meredith said in the release.

Healia allows users to narrow their search results by gender, age, racial and ethnic group as well as filter results for prevention, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and side effects.

Dr. Tom Eng, Healia’s president and founder, said Meredith’s brands and broad consumer reach make it a “perfect partner to establish Healia as the premier health search engine site.”

Healia technology will be incorporated into Meredith’s Web sites in the coming months.

It is Meredith’s fourth acquisition to enhance its online services in the past year. Other acquisitions have included the online marketing firms O’Grady Meyers, Genex and new Media Strategies.

“Our acquisition of Healia reflects our continuing focus on selectively acquiring and integrating new media businesses that add unique value to advertisers and consumers,” said John Zieser, Meredith’s chief development officer.