WebMD's H1N1 Special Report Site

WebMD’s H1N1 Special Report Website

Website Summary

With the outbreak in Spring 2009 of the Swine Flu, there has become a need for websites that offer information aimed to assist and educate concerning the Flu. The H1N1 Special Report is a separate page within the WebMD site. WebMD consists of information concerning health conditions and living better. It includes a symptom checker, health solutions and health news. The website’s Swine Flu guide is available for news, medical facts and advice.

The Good

-Toolkit in PDF format with prevention tips.

-Specific information for elderly, HIV patients, pregnant women, and those with chronic conditions who are at higher risk for contracting H1N1.

-Availability to speak with others using the H1N1 page.

The Bad

-The H1N1 Special Report page includes news articles, but some of the articles are almost a month old.

-The most recent article was still several days old. Medical News Today offers much more current news information- with multiple articles from the day of.

Review

The H1N1 Special Report of the WebMD site was created to give breaking news, medical facts and advice to educate and assist those with questions concerning H1N1, also known as the Swine Flu. The website also includes headlines dealing with H1N1, the ability to chat with other people on the website about H1N1, and more information available about the vaccine and many other topics. Information about symptoms and how the Swine Flue differs from the regular flu is a focal point of the website.

Features

WebMD has four main headings. These include Latest Headlines, Swine Flu Treatment, Swine Flu Prevention, and Swine Flu Overview. On the right hand side of the main page, there is a box labeled “Swine Flu Glossary.” The H1N1 Virus is defined as the most common subtype of influenza A, where it is also made clear that you can not get the swine flu from eating well-cooked pork. The definition from the Mayo Clinic differs mildly from WebMD, including that it is a respiratory infection and that it was officially recognized in Spring 2009. Prevention tips for different audiences are available in PDF format. A useful FAQ page is listed under “Help For Specific Groups” along with information for people with different chronic conditions. Many links are available that bring you to the CDC website concerning flu activity in different parts of the country and more swine flu information. WebMD also offers “10 Things To Do Before You Get Swine Flu” but the site doesn’t offer preventative measures- except a preventative measures link for kids. UW-Stout’s Student Health 101 offers more information on prevention, symptoms and treatment.

Timeliness of Information

As mentioned earlier, the timeliness of the articles are not as recent as some other sites offer. A very time-sensitive subject is the H1N1 vaccine. This is a top article included on the website. It includes when you can get the vaccine, where you can get the vaccine, how much it costs, and if it is safe for adults and children. The H1N1 vaccine is now available, and the site offers very current information. Important questions are addressed like the difference between the nasal spray and the injectable vaccine. A list of many questions that could arise, including whether the vaccine is safe is addressed in this section. I don’t think the site does a good job of putting the audience at ease in this very important question. Although, I think it does a better job of explaining the pros and cons compared to the Health Central website. They barely mention the H1N1 vaccine and focus more on the regular flu shot.

Ease of Use

Someone coming onto the H1N1 Special Report page for the first time I don’t think would know where to start. At the top of the page there is advertising that I think could confuse the reader into thinking it was a link for the website. The latest headlines are just a run-on list that the audience wouldn’t want to scan through. The Q&A page is not easy to navigate through and doesn’t have a heading with links to all the different questions, it’s just a continuous article that you have to scroll through, making it tedious and hard to use. Some articles have a list of questions/sections at the top, but they aren’t clickable. You still have to page through the site to find the answer to the question you have.

Overall

The website could have many different audiences accessing the H1N1 page. From students to older adults, almost anyone could have an interest in visiting this site. A common person that could be coming to the site is someone that has possible symptoms. This page provides for easy access to a link for Swine Flu Symptoms. This is an important aspect of the page. Unfortunately, going to this page just brings you to a lengthy article, with what seems to be links but are not clickable. Overall, this entire section of the WebMD site is not very easy to navigate and the layout provides for a lot of white space and a large amount of advertising. Overall, for ease of use and the information given, I would give the website 3 ½ out of 5 stars.

WebMD’s Special Report page could fix some aspects of their site for ease of use to help assist those who want more information on H1N1. For headlines, I would use another site to get my information but learning about the vaccine and CDC updates and Expert Answers to users questions, it makes it a friendly site that has the ability to give basic answers to flu questions.

Photos courtesy of WebMD.com

Works Cited

“Flow Chart for H1N1.” UW-Stout Student Health Services. 28 Sept. 2009: p 1-5 www.uwstout.edu/studenthealth

“H1N1 Tips.” Student Health 101 Oct. 2009: 19-20. College Health Services, LLC. 6 Oct. 2009. http://readsh101.com/h1n1tips.html