Assessment of the quality of coronavirus-related online information in Hausa language

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the quality of coronavirus related online information being posted in Hausa language. Materials and Methods: On 11th September, 2021, Google search engine was used to search the terms “Cutar Coronavirus” “Murar Mashako” “Cuta mai sarkafe Numfashi. Two raters rate the retrieved websites that met inclusion criteria and the data was validated by another independent researcher. Thereafter, inter rater reliability was computed using Pearson correlation in SPSS V20 at alpha level of 0.05. Results: A very good inter rater reliability of 0.83 was found. None of the websites belongs to an educational institution. The websites have quality information on the basic information of coronavirus such as definition, origin, mode of transmission 4.82 (0.36), but poor information on prevention and treatment effects 1.68 (0.84). Conclusion: In conclusion, coronavirus related online information being posted in Hausa Language are not reliable. There is need to educate online health information seekers on how to evaluate the genuineness of the information they are receiving.