Abstract
Background. People often search for information on influenza A(H1N1)v prevention on the web. The extent to which information found on the Internet is consistent with recommendations issued by the World Health Organization is unknown. Methods. We conducted a search for "swine flu" accessing 3 of the most popular search engines through different proxy servers located in 4 English-speaking countries (Australia, Canada, UK, USA). We explored each site resulting from the searches, up to 4 clicks starting from the search engine page, analyzing availability of World Health Organization recommendations for swine flu prevention. Results. Information on hand cleaning was reported on 79% of the 147 websites analyzed; staying home when sick was reported on 77.5% of the websites; disposing tissues after sneezing on 75.5% of the websites. Availability of other recommendations was lower. The probability of finding preventative recommendations consistent with World Health Organization varied by country, type of website, and search engine. Conclusions. Despite media coverage on H1N1 influenza, relevant information for prevention is not easily found on the web. Strategies to improve information delivery to the general public through this channel should be improved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 561 |
| Journal | BMC Public Health |
| Volume | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
Surfing the web during pandemic flu : Availability of World Health Organization recommendations on prevention. / Gesualdo, Francesco; Romano, Mariateresa; Pandolfi, Elisabetta; Rizzo, Caterina; Rav, Lucilla; Lucente, Daniela; Tozzi, Alberto E.
In: BMC Public Health, Vol. 10, 561, 2010.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Surfing the web during pandemic flu
T2 - Availability of World Health Organization recommendations on prevention
AU - Gesualdo, Francesco
AU - Romano, Mariateresa
AU - Pandolfi, Elisabetta
AU - Rizzo, Caterina
AU - Rav, Lucilla
AU - Lucente, Daniela
AU - Tozzi, Alberto E.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Background. People often search for information on influenza A(H1N1)v prevention on the web. The extent to which information found on the Internet is consistent with recommendations issued by the World Health Organization is unknown. Methods. We conducted a search for "swine flu" accessing 3 of the most popular search engines through different proxy servers located in 4 English-speaking countries (Australia, Canada, UK, USA). We explored each site resulting from the searches, up to 4 clicks starting from the search engine page, analyzing availability of World Health Organization recommendations for swine flu prevention. Results. Information on hand cleaning was reported on 79% of the 147 websites analyzed; staying home when sick was reported on 77.5% of the websites; disposing tissues after sneezing on 75.5% of the websites. Availability of other recommendations was lower. The probability of finding preventative recommendations consistent with World Health Organization varied by country, type of website, and search engine. Conclusions. Despite media coverage on H1N1 influenza, relevant information for prevention is not easily found on the web. Strategies to improve information delivery to the general public through this channel should be improved.
AB - Background. People often search for information on influenza A(H1N1)v prevention on the web. The extent to which information found on the Internet is consistent with recommendations issued by the World Health Organization is unknown. Methods. We conducted a search for "swine flu" accessing 3 of the most popular search engines through different proxy servers located in 4 English-speaking countries (Australia, Canada, UK, USA). We explored each site resulting from the searches, up to 4 clicks starting from the search engine page, analyzing availability of World Health Organization recommendations for swine flu prevention. Results. Information on hand cleaning was reported on 79% of the 147 websites analyzed; staying home when sick was reported on 77.5% of the websites; disposing tissues after sneezing on 75.5% of the websites. Availability of other recommendations was lower. The probability of finding preventative recommendations consistent with World Health Organization varied by country, type of website, and search engine. Conclusions. Despite media coverage on H1N1 influenza, relevant information for prevention is not easily found on the web. Strategies to improve information delivery to the general public through this channel should be improved.
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U2 - 10.1186/1471-2458-10-561
DO - 10.1186/1471-2458-10-561
M3 - Article
VL - 10
JO - BMC Public Health
JF - BMC Public Health
SN - 1471-2458
M1 - 561
ER -