{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T13:01:41Z","timestamp":1785157301318,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785110400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785110400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Photochem &amp;amp; Photobiology"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Ultraviolet\u2010C (UVC) technology to mitigate airborne infections was first demonstrated in laboratory and epidemiologic studies of influenza and measles in the 1930s, with effectiveness against tuberculosis demonstrated in the 1950s and again in the early 2000s. Yet, UVC was underutilized during the SARS CoV\u20102 pandemic (COVID\u201019). Availability, clarity, and actionability of information and messaging on UVC technology may have played a role in limiting policy discussions and uptake of UVC during the COVID\u201019 pandemic. The purpose of this analysis was to systematically assess the availability, clarity, and actionability of web\u2010based information about UVC for preventing airborne respiratory infections. Student research assistants conducted internet searches using the Google Search engine after receiving a brief orientation to germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) air disinfection. They referred webpages from public health and regulatory organizations whose missions were to regulate UVC or provide recommendations for UVC to prevent transmission of airborne infectious pathogens to the principal investigator (PI). The PI determined whether the webpages met the inclusion criteria. The PI and a doctoral student with experience and training scored the final sample using the CDC's Clear Communication Index (CCI) which assessed public health information on clarity and actionability across four domains. Searches using the Google Search engine for information targeted to the general public yielded mostly commercial websites of UVC vendors, peer\u2010reviewed papers, press releases on UVC research, and public health and regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We found that the public health and regulatory agencies have much room for improvement in the clarity, actionability, and integration with each other of their messaging and information. The lack of public policy and concerns about safety of UVC may be inhibiting clear and definitive public health messaging. Easily searchable UVC messaging on credible public health and regulatory websites has the potential to translate the peer\u2010reviewed literature for lay audiences and improve public understanding of UVC for reducing airborne infections. In conclusion, this baseline analysis suggests a policy\u2010communication gap in public\u2010facing information about UVC for airborne infection prevention. More integrated, clear, and actionable guidance from neutral, authoritative organizations may support public understanding, informed discussion, and appropriate use of this potentially life\u2010saving approach to protecting people in indoor spaces.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/php.70135","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T12:16:51Z","timestamp":1785154611000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ultraviolet\u2010C light for prevention of airborne infection: A baseline analysis of web\u2010based public information"],"prefix":"10.1111","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7008-142X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kathleen","family":"McPhaul","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health University of Maryland School of Public Health  College Park Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Young","family":"Yun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health University of Maryland School of Public Health  College Park Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Donald K.","family":"Milton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health University of Maryland School of Public Health  College Park Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cynthia","family":"Baur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Maryland School of Public Health Horowitz Center for Health Literacy  College Park Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_8_2_1","unstructured":"World Health 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Controlled trial of upper room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation in a south African native hospital","volume":"192","author":"Mphaphlele M","year":"2015","journal-title":"American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"471","DOI":"10.1111\/php.13523","article-title":"Turn up the lights, leave them on and shine them all around\u2010numerical simulations point the way to more efficient use of far\u2010UVC lights for the inactivation of airborne coronavirus","volume":"98","author":"Wood K","year":"2022","journal-title":"Photochemistry and Photobiology"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_29_1","unstructured":"NardellEA.\u201cIf we're going to live with COVID\u201019 it's time to clean our indoor air properly Time \u201d.2022https:\/\/time.com\/6143799\/covid\u201019\u2010indoor\u2010air\u2010cleaning\/"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"464","DOI":"10.1111\/php.13424","article-title":"Air disinfection with germicidal ultraviolet: for this pandemic and the next","volume":"97","author":"Bergman R","year":"2021","journal-title":"Photochemistry and Photobiology"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1164\/rccm.201505-0927ED","article-title":"Upper room germicidal ultraviolet systems for air disinfection are ready for wide implementation","volume":"192","author":"Miller SL","year":"2015","journal-title":"American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1700","DOI":"10.1513\/AnnalsATS.202305-460VP","article-title":"Far\u2010UVC: technology update with an untapped potential to mitigate airborne infections","volume":"20","author":"Bueno de Mesquita PJ","year":"2023","journal-title":"Annals of the American Thoracic Society"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1177\/003335491012500105","article-title":"The history of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation for air disinfection","volume":"125","author":"Reed NG","year":"2010","journal-title":"Public Health Reports"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1290","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajic.2019.04.176","article-title":"Perceptions of patients, health care workers, and environmental services staff regarding ultraviolet light room decontamination devices","volume":"47","author":"Dunn AN","year":"2019","journal-title":"American Journal of Infection Control"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_2_8_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1017\/ice.2025.10342","article-title":"Facilitators and barriers for the use of ultraviolet\u2010C disinfection for patient room cleaning at VA hospitals: a qualitative analysis","volume":"47","author":"Dukes KC","year":"2025","journal-title":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137211","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhazmat.2025.137211","article-title":"Ultraviolet radiation vs air filtration to mitigate virus laden aerosol in an occupied clinical room","volume":"487","author":"Landry SA","year":"2025","journal-title":"Journal of Hazardous Materials"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_37_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2013.301608","article-title":"Six components necessary for effective public health program implementation","volume":"104","author":"Frieden TR","year":"2014","journal-title":"American Journal of Public Health"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_38_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"638","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)01250-2","article-title":"7\u20101\u20107: an organising principle, target, and accountability metric to make the world safer from pandemics","volume":"398","author":"Frieden TR","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S258","DOI":"10.1097\/PHH.0000000000001324","article-title":"Updating health literacy for healthy people 2030: defining its importance for a new decade in public health","volume":"27","author":"Santana S","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Public Health Management and Practice"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_40_1","unstructured":"U.S. Congress.\u201cPlain Writing Act of 2010 \u201d.2010https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/111th\u2010congress\/house\u2010bill\/946"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1177\/1524839914538969","article-title":"The CDC clear communication index is a new evidence\u2010based tool to prepare and review health information","volume":"15","author":"Baur C","year":"2014","journal-title":"Health Promotion Practice"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_42_1","first-page":"475","article-title":"The contribution of latent human failures to the breakdown of complex systems","volume":"327","author":"Reason J","year":"1990","journal-title":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 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