Wikis, RSS, Blogs, Podcasts: How Web 2.0 technologies can enhance public health Web sites

The emergent Web 2.0 technologies stand to change the way people interact with and receive health information via the Internet. Second generation Web-based tools such as blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, and wikis, allow Web users to receive and share information in a collaborative manner.

The INFO Project, based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Communication Programs, envisions a world of interconnected communities where shared reproductive health information improves and saves lives. Two aspects of Web 2.0 are deemed essential to realizing the INFO Project's vision—Blogs and RSS feeds. Blogging at INFO gives its consumers the ability to share views and experiences on various topics that directly impact human health. RSS allows INFO to share modifications to their flagship database of six different resources including bibliographic records of latest research in the field of Family Planning and Reproductive Health.

At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) uses several RSS feeds to provide an additional way for the public to access pertinent information. With RSS, NIGMS is able to distribute updated content in a controlled manner without the confusion of mass e-mail notifications. Within NIH, many institutes have made podcasts available to the public and some are using wikis for internal collaboration.

This session will focus on how these various technologies have been utilized so far and suggestions for best practices moving forward.