Assessing the quality of COVID-19 messages on Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences' website (Preprint)

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Abstract
BACKGROUND Considering that every person in society receives their health information through the websites of medical sciences universities, the quality of the information is expected to be favorable. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the quality of public messages related to COVID-19 available on the Website of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. METHODS In this descriptive study, 20 news messages were produced on the main website of Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences (WEBDA); Faculties and sub-units were randomly selected and evaluated with the help of a researcher-made checklist. Data analysis was performed using SPSS25 software, as well as Fleiss' Kappa coefficient and descriptive statistics methods. RESULTS Of the messages, 73.4% were concerned with the prevention, and 34.9% were concerned with the treatment and control of COVID-19. 89% of messages were targeted at the public, while 14.7% were addressed to people in contact with the patient. 42% of the content of messages related to social distancing, 38.5% to hand hygiene, and 16.5% to vaccination. 92.7% of messages did not mention any specific group at all. In terms of message approach, 45% of messages had a neutral tone; 23% persuasive tone; and 9.2% had a threatening tone. Also, the most and least attention of the messages was on physical health (46.8%) and spiritual health, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Most of the messages were not up to par in terms of content type, scientific documents and evidence, scientific strength and accuracy, fluency, simplicity of the message, and the appearance of content design. To effectively educate the public on health-related issues, decision-makers should consider employing experts in message design to provide reliable educational content. This will ensure that the target audience receives accurate and informative information that can help them improve their health and well-being. The tool used in this study offers a reliable and valid means to assess the quality of health-related messages addressing diverse topics. This tool presents an exciting opportunity to evaluate health messages objectively.

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