Evaluation of health information about the influenza vaccine on internet

Background. The quality of health information on Internet is a question of concern to governments and users. Our aim was to determine the extent to which information about the influenza vaccine adheres to the gold standard set by the Spanish Health Ministry. Methods. Between June and July 2014 information on indications, adverse effects and counter-indications of the vaccine was evaluated to see if it adhered to this gold standard. This information was obtained through Google, using terms provided by medical students. A univariate analysis was performed, where the variable result was getting information that adhered correctly to the standard, and explanatory variables were the type of origin of the information and its country. Results. Using the terms provided by 104 students, we obtained 134 different web links. Adhesion reached 65.7% (88/134) with respect to indication in health workers (HW). Nineteen point four percent provided incorrect information on indication in pregnant women. There was significantly better adherence in the information from official public health bodies (indication in HW (OR: 2.6), pregnant women (OR: 5.4) and immunodepressed patients (OR: 2.2). Adherence of information on Spanish web links was worse (indication in pregnancy (OR: 0.3) and counter-indication if allergic to eggs (OR: 0.5). Conclusions. Adhesion was improvable. It's necessary to promote that Internet users use official public health bodies websites when they search information regarding influenza vaccine on Internet.