Surfing the web during pandemic flu: availability of World Health Organization recommendations on prevention

BMC Public Health

Correspondence

Caterina Rizzo¹  Alberto E Tozzi²  Francesco Gesualdo²  Elisabetta Pandolfi²  Lucilla Ravಠ Daniela Lucente²  Mariateresa Romano² 

[1] Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, Rome, Italy;Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, Rome, Italy;

关键词: Influenza;    Search Engine;    H1N1 Influenza;    Public Health Agency;    Pork Meat;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-10-561

 received in 2010-04-16, accepted in 2010-09-20,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPeople 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.MethodsWe 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.ResultsInformation 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.ConclusionsDespite 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Gesualdo et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010