Wikipedia as a source of information about curable sexually transmitted diseases

OBJECTIVE. To determine the relevance of the terminology of the Spanish edition of Wikipedia as a source of information on curable sexually transmitted diseases (cSTD) and the use and consultation by the population. METHODS. Cross sectional study. The terms were taken from the AIDSinfo glossary, through random sampling and also selecting the 4 cSTD (syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and tricomoniasis). The existence of the term and its relevance was verified accessing the Spanish edition of Wikipedia. The qualitative variables were described by their frequency and percentage; the quantitative ones, by mean and standard deviation. The existence of association among qualitative variables was analyzed using chi-square test and the difference of mean by the test t-Student. RESULTS. 261 terms were determined appropriate. Middle term data were: age 4286. 05 +/- 64. 88 days; update 129.56 +/- 12.78 days; editions 454.34 +/- 40.04 and consultations 61735.25 +/- 4168.44 in 90 days. The results on the 4 cSTD curable had greater numbers of editions and consultations. CONCLUSIONS. The presence of terms and the high number of consultations carried out in Wikipedia give it an enormous potential for the transmission of knowledge about STDs. The suitability of the information on the 4 cSTD, with the exception of the entry on tricomoniasis, could be considered appropriate. However, there are gaps that should be corrected to provide accurate information to the population.