ArticleBMC public health2013
How has the flu virus infected the Web? 2010 influenza and vaccine information available on the Internet.
Article in BMC public health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Determinants of Infodemics During Disease Outbreaks: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in public health · 2021Pooled it
- The role of social media in public health crises caused by infectious disease: a scoping review.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Spreading of misinformation on mass media and digital platforms regarding vaccines. A systematic scoping review on stakeholders, policymakers, and sentiments/behavior of Italian consumers.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2023Article
- The more you know, the better you act? Institutional communication in Covid-19 crisis management.Technological forecasting and social change · 2021Article
- Psychological Impact of Health Risk Communication and Social Media on College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- Information in Spanish on the Internet about the Prevention of COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Characteristics of YouTube Videos in Spanish on How to Prevent COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Assessment of Health Information About COVID-19 Prevention on the Internet: Infodemiological Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2020Article
- [Assessment of health information available online regarding meningococcal B vaccine recommendations].Revista espanola de salud publica · 2018Article
- A comprehensive analysis of Italian web pages mentioning squalene-based influenza vaccine adjuvants reveals a high prevalence of misinformation.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2018Article
- Vaccine criticism on the Internet: Propositions for future research.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2016Article
- Decisional conflict and vaccine uptake: cross-sectional study of 2012/2013 influenza season in Croatia.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe 2009-10 influenza pandemic was a major public health concern. Vaccination was recommended by the health authorities, but compliance was not optimal and perception of the presumed associated risks was high among the public. The Internet is increasingly being used as a source of health information and advice. The aim of the study was to investigate the characteristics of websites providing information about flu vaccine and the quality of the information provided.
methodsWebsite selection was performed in autumn 2010 by entering eight keywords in two of the most commonly used search engines (Google.com and Yahoo.com). The first three result pages were analysed for each search, giving a total of 480 occurrences. Page rank was evaluated to assess visibility. Websites based on Web 2.0 philosophy, websites merely displaying popular news/articles and single files were excluded from the subsequent analysis. We analysed the selected websites (using WHO criteria) as well as the information provided, using a codebook for pro/neutral websites and a qualitative approach for the adverse ones.
resultsOf the 89 websites selected, 54 dealt with seasonal vaccination, three with anti-H1N1 vaccination and 32 with both. Rank analysis showed that only classic websites (ones not falling in any other category) and one social network were provided on the first pages by Yahoo; 21 classic websites, six displaying popular news/articles and one blog by Google. Analysis of the selected websites revealed that the majority of them (88.8%) had a positive/neutral attitude to flu vaccination. Pro/neutral websites distinguished themselves from the adverse ones by some revealing features like greater transparency, credibility and privacy protection.
conclusionsWe found that the majority of the websites providing information on flu vaccination were pro/neutral and gave sufficient information. We suggest that antivaccinationist information may have been spread by a different route, such as via Web 2.0 tools, which may be more prone to the dissemination of "viral" information. The page ranking analysis revealed the crucial role of search engines regarding access to information on the Internet.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.