Examining the online approaches used by hospitals in Sydney, Australia to inform patients about healthcare associated infections and infection prevention strategies

BMC Infectious Diseases

Research Article

H. Seale¹  J. Park¹ 

[1] School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Level 2, Samuels Building, Sydney, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Patient information;    Internet;    Hospital website;    Patient involvement;    Healthcare associated infections;    Healthcare acquired infection;    Infection control and prevention;    Hand hygiene;    Health literacy;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12879-017-2899-2

 received in 2017-05-08, accepted in 2017-12-10,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundProvision of information plays a critical role in supporting patients to be engaged or empowered to be involved with infection prevention measures in hospitals. This explorative study evaluated the suitability, readability and accessibility of information on healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and infection prevention strategies targeted at patients from the websites of 19 acute care public hospitals in Sydney, Australia.MethodsWe included hospitals with greater than 200 beds in the sample. We examined online information targeted at patients on HCAIs and infection prevention and compared it using the Suitability Assessment of Material (SAM) and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) readability formulas for suitability, readability and accessibility.ResultsThirty-six webpages were identified as being relevant and containing information about HCAIs or infection prevention. Based on the SAM/SMOG scores, only three webpages were found to be ‘superior’. Many of the webpages scored poorly in content, literacy, graphics, learning stimulation and cultural appropriateness. In comparison, most of the webpages scored well in the layout and typography. The majority (97%) of the materials were written at a level higher than the recommended reading grade level. Lastly, the websites scored poorly on the ability to locate the information easily, as messages about HCAIs/infection prevention were usually embedded into other topics.ConclusionWhile providing information online is only one approach to delivering messages about infection prevention, it is becoming increasingly important in today’s technology society. Hospitals are neglecting to use best practices when designing their online resources and current websites are difficult to navigate. The findings point to the need to review patient information on HCAIs regarding suitability, readability and accessibility.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017