How reliable is the Internet for caregivers on their decision to vaccinate their child against influenza? Results from googling in two languages.
We have chosen Google, which is the most widely used search engine, to simulate a parent's experience in trying to find an answer on whether to have her/his child vaccinated against influenza. In doing this, we aimed to find out the chances that a parent with usual Internet searching tendencies may...
| Published in: | European Journal of Pediatrics Vol. 172; no. 3; pp. 401 - 405 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
Mar2013
|
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=104239623&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 104239623 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 03406199 CR1 jtl: European Journal of Pediatrics issn: 03406199 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2013 vid: 172 iid: 3 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 104239623 NLM23143529 2012019807 10.1007/s00431-012-1889-z NLM23143529 104239623 ppf: 401 ppct: 4 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: How reliable is the Internet for caregivers on their decision to vaccinate their child against influenza? Results from googling in two languages. aug: au: Oncel, Selim Alvur, Müge affil: Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Umuttepe Campus, 41380, Izmit, Kocaeli, Turkey, SelimOncel@doctor.com. sug: subj: Consumer Health Information Standards Influenza Vaccine Internet Web Search Engines Immunization Psychosocial Factors Immunization Standards Adolescence Caregivers Child Child, Preschool Decision Making Infant Language Practice Guidelines Adolescent: 13-18 years Child: 6-12 years Child, Preschool: 2-5 years Infant: 1-23 months ab: We have chosen Google, which is the most widely used search engine, to simulate a parent's experience in trying to find an answer on whether to have her/his child vaccinated against influenza. In doing this, we aimed to find out the chances that a parent with usual Internet searching tendencies may encounter right, wrong, and irrelevant answers in her/his search in the world wide web. We searched the Internet for an answer to the question "Should I make my child vaccinated against influenza?" by using the keywords "influenza", "vaccine", and "children" in two languages (English and Turkish). The "correct" answer was at least one clear statement meaning that annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all children (aged 6 months-18 years). Thirty-two of the 112 websites and 45 of the 103 websites had the correct answer, whereas 24 and 46 websites contained incorrect information in English and Turkish searches, respectively. Only non-relevant information was found in 56 English and 12 Turkish websites. When the first page of search results were taken into account, correctness and incorrectness were observed in six and four English and four and six in Turkish websites, respectively. Our findings call for the urgent need to check public-oriented healthcare information on the Internet for accuracy, completeness, and consistency. We have arrived at a conclusion that the information on the Internet cannot and should not be a substitute for routine care by primary care physicians. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|