Did Public Health Travel Advice Reach Euro 2012 Football Fans? A Social Network Survey

Tuesday, 24th of December 2013 Print
[source]Euro Surveillance and Outbreaks Report[|source]

Mass gatherings of this scale provide an environment for potential rapid spread of infectious diseases. Sporting events like national/international football tournaments, athletics events and national/international celebrations now create avenues for mass transmission of diseases like measles, targeted for elimination.

In this article, the authors evaluated the risk communications for measles in preparations towards the Euro 2012 sporting event. The report documents that 77% of the estimated 1 million football fans did not know the risks of measles transmission. This survey shows that we can use such social media platforms for surveys into such a unique population. More details are available at:  http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20238

 

Abstract

We posted a survey on the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)’s EURO 2012 Face book profile to evaluate whether public health travel advice, specifically on the importance of measles vaccination, reached fans attending EURO 2012. Responses suggested that these messages were missed by 77% of fans. Social networks could serve as innovative platforms to conduct surveys, enabling rapid access to target populations at low cost and could be of use during upcoming mass gatherings such as the Olympics.

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