[Interactions using the Internet among parents and pediatric societies in Spain and the Latin American Pediatric Association].
BACKGROUND
The Internet has revolutionized access to biomedical information among health professionals and the general public. There is demand for pediatric societies to develop quality contents directed at both pediatricians and parents.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate interaction through the Internet among parents and the pediatric societies in Spain and member organizations of the Latin American Pediatric Association.


METHODS
All the official Spanish pediatric societies (n = 45) and the national organizations belonging to the Latin American Pediatric Association (25) were examined. Societies with their own websites (26 in Spain and 13 in Latin America) were identified. For each website, the following data were collected: size, access to contents, adherence to an ethical code, terms of use, division of contents for pediatricians and those for parents, and means of contact for parents.


RESULTS
All the websites provided free access to biomedical information. Only 35 % of websites from Spain and 15.4 % of those from the Latin American Pediatric Association subscribed to an ethical code while 54 % and 84.6 % respectively had no terms of use section. Overall, 46 % had a specific area for parents. The most common means of contact between parents and websites was through electronic mail and 5 % of the sites explicitly accepted online consultations. Only six out of 39 websites fulfilled all the criteria evaluated.


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of pediatric societies on the Internet is acceptable, without noteworthy differences between Spanish organizations and member organizations of the Latin American Pediatric Association. In general, interaction with parents is of poor quality.
Díaz Vázquez
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CA
Centro de Salud de Moreda, Servicio Asturiano de Salud (SESPA-Area 7). cadiaz@accesible.org
Mola Caballero de Rodas
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P
D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007843:Latin America; D010290:Parents; D010372:Pediatrics; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013030:Spain