SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Implementation of a Local Community Website During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Pdf Summary

This document describes the creation and impact of COVIDBrooklyn.com, a community-focused website launched in March 2020 to provide clear, current, and reliable COVID-19 information during the pandemic. The site was developed by medical students involved in a COVID Response movement, with support from volunteers in public health, marketing, and community outreach.<br /><br />Its main goals were to combat misinformation by sharing guidance from trusted sources such as the NYC Department of Health and the CDC, and to provide easy-to-understand resources for residents of East Flatbush and the surrounding community. In addition to COVID-19 guidance, the website included locally available support for food, housing, homeschooling, mental health, domestic violence, and financial assistance.<br /><br />The project faced major challenges, including building a functional website quickly, coordinating a multidisciplinary team, and reaching the intended local audience without relying heavily on costly search engine optimization. Instead, promotion relied on community events, flyers, word of mouth, email lists, and social media sharing. Content was simplified to about a 5th grade reading level to improve accessibility.<br /><br />Evaluation through Google Analytics and email surveys showed strong engagement: the site received 10,849 unique visitors and 19,284 page views, with peak traffic occurring during major COVID-19 waves in 2020. Most visitors came directly through shared links, while smaller portions came from social media and search engines. Of 259 survey responses, 94% said they had no difficulty understanding the website’s content.<br /><br />Overall, the project demonstrated that a multidisciplinary, community-based approach can successfully deliver understandable public health information during a crisis, though time, staffing, and outreach limitations remained important obstacles.

Asset Subtitle

Suhwoo Bae

Meta Tag

Author List Azka Khan, Jason Lazar, Michael Vaysblat, Suhwoo Bae

Category Innovations

Concept COVID-19 Information Website

Concept COVID-19

Concept Misinformation

Concept Public Health Guidance

Concept Community Resource

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Northwell/ NSLIJ

Presenting Author Suhwoo Bae

Track Communication

Keywords

COVIDBrooklyn

COVID-19 information

public health communication

community website

misinformation

East Flatbush

medical students

health resources

Google Analytics

community outreach

COVID-19 Information Website

COVID-19

Misinformation

Public Health Guidance

Community Resource