Over the
past 4 years, there have been over 430 posts and over 35,000 viewers.
For the dedicated
reader, you will note that there have been no posting for the past 6 weeks. It
seems that the time has come to allow the site to remain active as there are
some very good unique resources that are not synthesized in other locations,
and many pages that are now outdated and should be viewed with a skeptical eye.
Just as importantly,
the main audience for this site has been public health workers in Canada. Where the first few years were predominately
Canadian readers, and in the mid-years about half; Now both Russian and US viewers outnumber the primary
target audience. While such
international interest is appreciated, it begs the question as to whether the
primary mandate is being met
The site
was started when there was as relative dearth of on-line resources. Now there is a plethora. Blogs have popped
up, and more importantly, are better evidence synthesis sites that use rigorous
approaches.
Twitter was
merely a curiosity. Facebook was still a
personal sharing site and not the information source it has become. The growth in both to meet professional and
private needs speaks to their effectiveness. The growth of interest from the international
community also speaks to the rapid uptake of Web based systems.
Overall the
effort has been successful in communicating out. The site however was not well used for
stimulating dialogue amongt professionals.
And while there have been a smattering of guest contributions, a prime purpose
of protecting anonymity makes the site open to question for its legitimacy (a
valid concern from the media), and in many instances experts in various areas would
prefer their pieces to carry proper attribution.
Still to
come may be an important series on discrimination and health, and given the
recent events in the US, this has become even more pressing.
Your
thoughts and comments are still welcomed.
The drphealth@gmail.com address
remains active and monitored.