Misinformation: A Major Threat to Public Health, Healthcare Services, and Patient Outcomes
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Informatics and Big Data".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 2 July 2026 | Viewed by 17
Special Issue Editor
Interests: research methodology; biostatistics; epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The worldwide dissemination of misinformation has a palpable negative impact on public health, healthcare services, and patient outcomes. The online propagation of false information has emerged as a global issue with profound economic, political, and social repercussions. Misinformation leads to various negative effects, such as swaying people's choices and diminishing trust in authoritative bodies. For example, in healthcare settings, misinformation has obstructed the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and related preventive measures. Additionally, conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19 vaccines have been associated with heightened vaccine hesitancy and reduced willingness to get vaccinated.
Consequently, misinformation can mislead the public and undermine public health initiatives. Furthermore, health-related misinformation, covering topics like vaccines, infectious diseases, nutrition, climate change, cancer, and smoking, is rampant on major social media platforms. The misinformation problem stems from multiple interconnected factors, including the rapid dissemination of information by non-experts, the impact of bots, and social media algorithms.
Moreover, the global reach of social media and swift technological progress hinder efforts to enhance the quality and accuracy of information in this context. In summary, addressing misinformation necessitates a coordinated effort involving social media users, content creators, companies, and governments. Special attention should be given to healthcare services since misinformation among healthcare workers and clients may reduce the quality of care and increase negative patient outcomes.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Accurate measurement and detection of health-related misinformation in clinical and community settings;
- Patient-specific and system-level predictors of vulnerability to health misinformation;
- Quantifiable impacts of misinformation on patient health behaviors, treatment adherence, and clinical outcomes;
- Health system consequences of misinformation, including effects on provider–patient communication and public health initiatives;
- Evidence-based strategies for healthcare professionals to identify and counteract misinformation in clinical practice;
- The role of social media and digital platforms in propagating health misinformation and healthcare policy interventions for effective mitigation.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Petros Galanis
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- health misinformation
- medical fake news
- infodemic
- healthcare services
- healthcare communication
- patient outcomes
- susceptibility
- measurement
- health literacy
- trust in healthcare
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