Public health emergency preparedness websites: 50 state assessment

Background: State public health agency websites are crucial to public health emergency readiness and are information sources for agencies, health care and the public. However, data and assessments regarding these websites are lacking.

Methods: Public health emergency preparedness websites of all 50 states were evaluated, using an instrument that used “yes/no,” Likert scale, or quantitative elements. 141 elements were assessed in the following categories: homepage elements, audience specified, general content, specific content, professional credibility, technical elements, navigation, interactivity, graphic design and user control.

Results: Three states had non-functional websites. Of the rest, elements consistently found among nearly all states included: navigation, graphic design, professional credibility and user control. Websites lacked information in: audience, where 25 (53.2%) specified no audience and 34 (72.3%) did not address vulnerable populations; general content, where 31 (65.9%) did not specify actions to take during emergencies; specific content, where 12 websites (25.5%) addressed natural disasters, 2 (4.3%) covered technological disasters, 7 (14.9%) covered communicable diseases, and 9 (19.2%) covered radiological emergencies; and interactivity, where visual resources were scarce or absent for 39 (83%). Website performance varied for homepage elements and technical elements, where content was accessed within 30 seconds for 44 (93.6%), but 45 (95.7%) required download of software to access content.

Conclusions: State public health emergency preparedness websites were generally usable but varied greatly, primarily in content. Websites can be more user-friendly, and should serve essential audiences and upgrade content. Since some states meet address these challenges well, improvements are feasible.