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Abstract #157528

Anne M. Turner, MD, MPH, MLIS, Center for Public Health Informatics, University of Washington, Box 354943, Seattle, WA 98195, 206-221-3615, amturner@u.washington.edu, Deanna Petrochilos, Division of Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Washington, Box 354943, Seattle, WA 98195, and Elizabeth D. Liddy, PhD, Department of Information Studies, Syracuse University, 335B Hinds, Syracuse, NY 13244.

Introduction: The Internet has become a common resource for public health information. However, internet public health information remains poorly organized and and of variable quality. Our group is developing a natural language processing system to retrieve quality public health documents based on automated filtering according to a set of quality criteria. To determine the extent to which local public health professionals (PHP) use the Internet for public health information, as well as the criteria public health professionals use to assess quality, we conducted an online survey of health department directors and program managers in 6 states of the Pacific Northwest. Method: An anonymous online survey was sent to health department directors the six states in the Pacific Northwest. Survey questions focused on Internet use, the type of information sought, and the criteria public health professionals use to determine the quality of information available on the Internet. Results: 179 PHP responded to the survey. 93% of the respondents were local public health professionals. 97% of the respondents had full access to computers at work. The CDC website, state public health websites, and the Google search site are used most commonly. The most important criteria for selecting a particular website is the sponsoring agency or institution. Major factors cited for determining the quality of Internet information are authority, currency, and accuracy. Conclusion: The Internet has become an important source of public health information for PHPs. Authority, accuracy and currency are important attributes used to determine the quality of information on the Internet.

Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives

• Describe the results of the Pacific Northwest Public Health Internet Use Survey of local public health professionals.
• List the most common Internet sites used by local public health professionals.
• Describe the major quality criteria used by public health professionals to select information from Internet sites.

Keywords: Public Health Informatics, World Wide Web

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.