Content Syndication: An Innovative Solution to Improve Access and Foster Collaboration

Background: Content syndication is a technical application that allows CDC partners to display health and safety information from CDC.gov and partner sites on their own web sites. The content is automatically updated, providing an easy and cost-free way for public health partners to easily access credible, timely and science-based health information. In addition to improved reach and access to health information, content syndication also helps enable citizens to create innovative health applications by providing easier access to government tools, data and information. CDC began content syndication in November 2007, and has found it to be a successful way to provide vital government information to the public and collaborate across government and with valuable public health partners. 

Program background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the first federal agency to provide full-page content syndication. This successful program allows CDC to more widely disseminate important health messages, while helping resource-strapped state and local health agencies acquire free web content that is easy to maintain and is updated in real-time. This tool is also a cost-free way to provide credible, science-based health information that many state, tribal, local and territorial health departments, federal agencies, and other CDC partners use– and want to provide - to their audiences. Prior to content syndication, these partners were using the "cut and paste" method of transferring information from the CDC.gov site to local sites. This process can be very time consuming and creates a potential for error.

Evaluation Methods and Results: CDC has experienced greatly expanded visibility of CDC.gov information on state, local, and partner Web sites. Content syndication was a key communication tool during the H1N1 influenza response. There have been more than: 

• 418,796 views of CDC H1N1 content via content syndication
• 450 Pages of H1N1 content made available for syndication
• 211 Pages of Seasonal Flu content is available for syndication
• 3 million additional view of content on other web sites

Conclusions: Content syndication has provided amazing benefits for CDC and CDC partners. CDC experiences the benefits of new partnerships to deliver or use CDC content, increased access to CDC information and increased audience reach of CDC content. Content syndication can increase traffic back to the CDC site – perhaps as much as 30-50% over the next three to five years. Most importantly, this program helps ensure that the public has greater access to the best quality health information.

Implications for research and/or practice: CDC partners reap the benefits through rapid deployment of CDC content to their sites and the ability to integrate local information with national information for improved message delivery. CDC web content may be accessed programmatically through an open application programming interface (API), or a tool that allows programmers to allow interction between programs, and reused in widgets, mashups and third party applications. In summary, content syndication reduces costs, improves the quality and consistency of information, and frees resources for more important activities for content owners and for partners.