Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
The internet is now used widely as a source of information about the effectiveness and safety of healthcare interventions. Web and social media bear both great potential - for knowledge transfer - and great dangers, because they also help to diffuse distorted messages, often affected by conflicts of interests, presented uncritically and driven by sensationalism. If it is to stand out, reliable health information should not only be understandable, but also be presented in a practical, interesting and target-oriented fashion. Built on the success of Testing Treatments - a book for the public originally published in English – ‘sibling’ websites in many languages have been established to promote better research for better health care.
Methods:
We will analyze some patterns of navigation of these sibling websites - called Testing Treatments interactive (TTi) - to provide data, which could help address their further development. Although there are certain common features across all of the sibling websites, the editor of each website is free to develop his/her specific website in ways judged to be appropriate for the target language group. In each website the texts of Testing Treatments (in the English original or in translation) are available for free download. Many other open access resources, such as videos, audios, cartoons, e-learning materials, and hypertexts of references from scientific journals, are available through the websites. TTi English has also started to differentiate target user groups, such as students and teachers, journalists and science writers, as well as patients and the public. Visitors of the websites will be asked to answer a short survey and to rank their navigation experience for each specific topic they were interested in.
Expected results:
We will identify preferences of navigation and kinds of materials considered most informative and/or interesting. We expect such information to provide useful insights for developing the TTi initiative and, more generally, for public health professionals and researchers who wish to improve strategies for promoting better research for better healthcare.
The internet is now used widely as a source of information about the effectiveness and safety of healthcare interventions. Web and social media bear both great potential - for knowledge transfer - and great dangers, because they also help to diffuse distorted messages, often affected by conflicts of interests, presented uncritically and driven by sensationalism. If it is to stand out, reliable health information should not only be understandable, but also be presented in a practical, interesting and target-oriented fashion. Built on the success of Testing Treatments - a book for the public originally published in English – ‘sibling’ websites in many languages have been established to promote better research for better health care.
Methods:
We will analyze some patterns of navigation of these sibling websites - called Testing Treatments interactive (TTi) - to provide data, which could help address their further development. Although there are certain common features across all of the sibling websites, the editor of each website is free to develop his/her specific website in ways judged to be appropriate for the target language group. In each website the texts of Testing Treatments (in the English original or in translation) are available for free download. Many other open access resources, such as videos, audios, cartoons, e-learning materials, and hypertexts of references from scientific journals, are available through the websites. TTi English has also started to differentiate target user groups, such as students and teachers, journalists and science writers, as well as patients and the public. Visitors of the websites will be asked to answer a short survey and to rank their navigation experience for each specific topic they were interested in.
Expected results:
We will identify preferences of navigation and kinds of materials considered most informative and/or interesting. We expect such information to provide useful insights for developing the TTi initiative and, more generally, for public health professionals and researchers who wish to improve strategies for promoting better research for better healthcare.