Should Health Organizations Use Web 2.0 Media in Times of an Infectious Disease Crisis? An In-depth Qualitative Study of Citizens’ Information Behavior During an EHEC Outbreak

Abstract

BackgroundWeb 2.0 media (eg, Facebook, Wikipedia) are considered very valuable for communicating with citizens in times of crisis. However, in the case of infectious disease outbreaks, their value has not been determined empirically. In order to be able to take full advantage of Web 2.0 media in such a situation, the link between these media, citizens’ information behavior, and citizens’ information needs has to be investigated.ObjectiveThe goal of our study was to assess citizens’ Web 2.0 media use during an infectious disease outbreak and to determine which Web 2.0 medium is used for which goal. With this information, we wanted to formulate recommendations for health organizations that consider using Web 2.0 media as part of their communication strategy during an infectious disease outbreak.MethodsA total of 18 student participants kept an information diary for 4 weeks during the 2011 enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) outbreak in Germany. Of them, 9 lived at the epicenter of the outbreak and 9 of them at some distance. The diaries were supplemented by a qualitative pre-survey (demographics) and postsurvey (questioning their satisfaction with information provision during the outbreak).ResultsThe Internet appeared to be the most popular medium for passively receiving EHEC-related information, with news websites and websites of newspapers as the most consulted sources. Twitter was used for receiving information to a small degree, while Facebook played virtually no role. Participants indicated that they thought information posted on Twitter or Facebook was not reliable or was out of place. When actively seeking information, online newspapers and wikis were important sources. Several causes for (dis)satisfaction with information provision were uncovered: source credibility, contradicting messages, and a need for closure.ConclusionsDuring an infectious disease outbreak, our small sample of students did not see social media (like Facebook and Twitter) as suitable or reliable sources for communicating information, but primarily viewed them as a tool for communicating with friends. Wikis, however, did fill several information needs, especially when citizens are actively searching for information. For many, source credibility is an important asset of information usefulness. Finally, we provide several general recommendations for communicating with citizens during an infectious disease outbreak.

Public knowledge and preventive behavior during a large-scale Salmonella outbreak: results from an online survey in the Netherlands

“…Health organizations should focus on these media to inform the general public, and to persuade them to take preventive actions. We came to a similar conclusion after studying information behavior during the 2011 German EHEC outbreak [13]. We uncovered that people do not use social media in these situations, as they think healthrelated information is 'out of place' there, or unreliable [13].…”

“…We came to a similar conclusion after studying information behavior during the 2011 German EHEC outbreak [13]. We uncovered that people do not use social media in these situations, as they think healthrelated information is 'out of place' there, or unreliable [13]. Investing time and effort in a social media campaign may serve only a very small portion of the population, resulting in a low return on investment.…”

The effects of SNS communication: How expressing and receiving information predict MERS-preventive behavioral intentions in South Korea

“…There is substantial evidence that people use SNSs as an effective tool for communicating relevant information with their peers, friends, and families during the outbreak of infectious diseases (Tausczik, Faasse, Pennebaker, & Petrie, 2012;van Velsen, van Gemert-Pijnen, Beaujean, Wentzel, & van Steenbergen, 2012). However, researchers have not explored the effect of communicating information about infectious diseases via SNSs on diseasepreventive behaviors.…”

National culture and trust in online health information

“…According to , the source providers' expertise and the trustworthiness of the provided information were the main predictors of intention to revisit a health website. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs and forums were reported as 'less reliable' for health information Van Velsen et al, 2012). In study, students who did not use social media for health information stated 'privacy concerns' and 'unreliable resources' as the main barriers, and these privacy concerns were more challenging in social networking sites than other social media.…”