Understanding Online Health Information Consumption Through Web Analytics of the Italian Society of Pharmacology Magazine: 3-Year Descriptive Analysis.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored that access to reliable and expert-driven scientific information is not only essential but also lifesaving. Since 2020, the Italian Society of Pharmacology has been publishing SIF Magazine, an online magazine dedicated to citizens. This journal was created to make pharmacology accessible to the public, highlighting its impact on health and quality of life while clarifying the truths, theories, and misconceptions surrounding drugs and their use. This work analyzed web interaction data from SIF Magazine to understand how the public reaches and engages with an online scientific journal and gather practical insights for improving digital scientific communication. The data analyzed in this study were obtained from the web analytics of the SIF Magazine website. The analysis covers 3 years (2022-2024). By studying patterns of access, navigation, and engagement, the analysis clarified which types of scientific content connect most with users, how people find and choose trustworthy sources, and what they do after reaching them. Average monthly site visits increased from 120,024 in the partial period examined in 2022 to 128,059 in 2023 and 200,379 in 2024, paralleled by higher monthly views (155,785 in 2022, 165,438 in 2023, and 254,297 in 2024). The engagement rate declined modestly (36% in late 2022, 35% in 2023, and 29% in 2024), consistent with scale-related dilution from an expanding top-of-funnel audience. Category-level analyses of top-performing articles indicated disproportionate interest in renal, urogenital, and sexual disorders followed by inflammation and pain and gastrointestinal diseases. Seasonal analyses showed recurrent peaks for season-linked topics (eg, motion sickness, photosensitivity reactions, and influenza vaccination) during expected periods. Together, these findings underscore the importance of data-driven content planning and continuous performance monitoring to sustain the effectiveness of digital scientific communication platforms.