blogging in infectious diseases 837
table 3. The Top 10 Blogs by Topic: 2015 Blog Name
URL
Infectious diseases NEJM, HIV, and ID observations
Global network, neglected tropical diseases
Tracking Zebra
Virology Down Under Mbiosphere
Microbe Post
Moselio Schaechter Virology blog
Infection control Controversies in Hospital Infection Prevention
Reflection on Infection Prevention and Control
http://blogs.jwatch.org/hiv-id-observations/ http://endtheneglect.org/
http://www.trackingzebra.com/new-blog/
Microbiology Blastocystis parasite blog
http://blastocystis.net/
http://virologydownunder.blogspot.com/ http://mbioblog.asm.org/mbiosphere/
http://microbepost.org/
http://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/ http://virology.ws/
http://haicontroversies.blogspot.com/ http://reflectionsipc.com/
Blogger’s Descriptive Quote
“Dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases”
“Raise the awareness to control neglected tropical diseases”
“Infectious disease, politics, healthcare”
“Role of this parasite in health and diseases”
“Info and opinion on viruses”
“The latest news from the journal of the American society of microbiology” “A blog from the Microbiology Society”
“Appreciation for the width and depth of the microbial activities”
“About virus and viral diseases”
“Reflections on IPC based on clinical microbiology, epidemiology, science & literature, and the practical issues”
“Wherein we ponder vexing issues in infection prevention and control, inside and outside the hospital.”
Scores 1a 59
58.4 57c
57.4 57c
61.4 64
61 64 61
64.4
Score 2b
16 12 15 16 16
17 15
16 17 16
18
deficiency syndrome. aScore obtained using the developed tool. bScore obtained using the checklist including the 19 criteria (1 point for the presence of the criteria and 0 if absence) published by Lin et al.13 cTwo blogs obtained the same score and were positioned in tenth position.
NOTE. NEJM, New Englad Journal of Medicine; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; ID, infectious diseases; AIDS, acquired immuno-
2.7 (IQR, 1–3) blogs: 86 (76.79%) read the latest research pub- lications; 49 (62%) read news and developments in their field; 56 (58%) sought to read professional current opinion. Readers liked their favorite blog due to the topic or the variety of topics covered, the author’s unique viewpoint, a concise and synthesized format, and/or regular updates. Blogs represented a source of enjoyment for some readers. Most readers (n=83, 78%) never or rarely commented on blogs, and 56% often or sometimes shared blog posts with colleagues. Finally, 66 readers (62%) considered the presentation of the blog important, and 55 (52%) felt the inclusion of multimedia was important.
discussion
The content of most of the 88 infectious disease blogs we analyzed focused on microbiology and were intended for research purposes. These results suggest that some improvement may be needed regarding the presentation and attractiveness of blogs. Antimicrobial stewardship appeared to be poorly represented in the blogosphere (7 blogs;mean score, 48.6; range, 29.8–64.4) despite the large public health problem posed by antimicrobial resistance. Overall, messages impacting daily practices were delivered in 34% of the blogs analyzed. Blogs appeared to be a free medium of expression for bloggers,
providing the opportunity for wide-reaching and independent visibility. For readers, these tools were an easy way to access a large amount of cutting-edge information with some expert analysis on emerging and controversial issues. Social media is now firmly embedded within healthcare.4,14,15
In the recent global threats presented byMERS-coV, Ebola, and antimicrobial resistance, blogs have been used as a medium to instantaneously share data among professionals regarding the epidemiological situation and control measures.16,17 In this way, unpublished information, study results, analyses, and opinions have been disseminated, avoiding the comparatively long and complicated publication process required by scientificjournals. Several blogs among the top 10 scored in the present study published multiple posts what address the management of these acute emerging situations.16–21 Used synergistically with peer-reviewed journals, blogs can advertise published articles, contributing to their readership and increasing their citation. Blogs can synthesize and facilitate access to research findings in various fields (for patients and the public as well), providing a broad vision of health science and supporting the possibility of collaboration on translational projects. This channel of communication may not present the samelevel
of selection, quality control, or improvement process demanded by peer-review journals. Most blogs offer opportunities for comment, response, and interactions to refute or endorse the
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