The Deadly Details: How Clear and Complete Are Publicly Available Sources of Human Rabies Information?

ABSTRACT: Human rabies is preventable but almost always fatal once symptoms appear, causing 59,000 global deaths each year. Limited awareness and inconsistent access to post-exposure prophylaxis hinder prevention efforts. To identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in online rabies information, we assessed the readability, understandability, actionability, and completeness of online public rabies resources from government and health agencies in Australia and similar countries, with the aim of identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement. We identified materials via Google and public health agency websites, assessing readability using the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) index and understandability and actionability with the Patient Education Materials Tool for Print materials (PEMA

SUBMITTER: Patane N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11768519 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature