Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
07/18/2016
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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A significant portion of the population search the internet to solve health problems, but not all available information is reliable, updated and comprehensible
Writing by RBA
São Paulo - The Laboratory Internet, Health and Society (Laiss), linked to the Health Center Germano Sinval Faria (CSEGSF), the National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz (ENSP / Fiocruz) Foundation, created a mechanism to evaluate the quality of health information that are available on the world Wide Web. Launched last June, at the opening of the 32nd National Congress of Municipal Health in Fortaleza, the quality Sergio Arouca stamp of health information on the Internet is already in place and is the first initiative of its kind in Brazil.
According to André Pereira Neto, doctor of public health and Laiss coordinator, the initiative came from the realization that, for a significant portion of those who have access to the internet when faced with any questions regarding the health problems, the first impulse is connect to the world Wide Web in search of explanations and even treatments. "Already some call the main engine search network 'Google Doctor." But not all information available on the Internet is reliable, updated and comprehensible, "he says.
According to the researcher, the main objective is to improve the performance levels of the Unified Health System (SUS) and, initially, the project aims to ensure that sites of municipal and state Health throughout the country comply with certain indicators and criteria . "When citizens have access to quality information, it takes better care of himself, seeks to prevent yourself from diseases and also increases their adherence to possible treatments," he says.
Sérgio Arouca, sanitarian and former president of Fiocruz, had name and image chosen for the certification seal
Pereira Neto believes that public health websites should become a reference for the population and, therefore, must be correct. In an article entitled "Health within reach of a click?", Published in issue No. 32 of the magazine Rio Search / Faperj in September 2015, he advocated creating a seal to certify health sites.
To receive the seal, the websites of state and local departments of health should undergo an assessment to verify to what extent they meet criteria such as readability (the extent to which the website is responsive to users) and accuracy (if the information contained is correct and updated). The assessment shows compliance levels that the site received for each criterion and indicator.
Thus, the site manager will have enough information to make the necessary changes to remedy any non-conformities. Made the changes, the site will be evaluated again by a team of professionals and users of SUS. If you get more than 80% compliance, the site will be approved and you can put on top quality Sergio Arouca stamp of health information on the Internet. This seal indicates that the visitor information available on the site is reliable.
The practice
Between 2012 and 2015, Laiss coordinated three evaluation experiences in different sites on tuberculosis, dengue and breastfeeding. None of the sites received over 60% compliance. For the researcher, which drew more attention was the difficulty to understand the information available in public portals, especially the Ministry of Health.
In addition to experts, the evaluation of these three experiments also included the participation of residents in the Manguinhos community in the north of Rio de Janeiro, near the campus of Fiocruz. They collaborated in the construction of criteria and indicators and evaluation of various sites.
The participation of these PHS users gave the project an innovative character, since there are few communication initiatives in health that include the participation of communities. "We want to strengthen the sense of citizenship and show the importance of this participation. In addition, no one better than the network users to tell us what can and should be changed," says Pereira Neto.
For Maria Helena de Souza, who lives in Manguinhos, the opportunity was important for their growth. "As a community resident, I can say that today I have a differential," he said.
The label's name was a tribute to Professor Sérgio Arouca (1941-2003), one of the SUS ideologues and former president of Fiocruz in the years 1985-1989 and that, speaking on the expanded concept of health in the 8th National Conference health (1986) said that access to information is also needed.
According to the press release to announce the launch of the label, Laiss to evaluate in the coming months, 50 sites of municipal and state secretariats of Brazil.
managers interested should contact by email: laiss@ensp.fiocruz.br
Source: Network Brazil Current
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.