Vaccination in the Age of Memes: An Exploration of Digital Health Communication.

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic requires sustainable behavior change to mitigate the impact of the virus. A phenomenon which has arisen in parallel with this pandemic is an infodemic—an over-abundance of information, of which some is accurate and some is not, making it hard for people to find trustworthy and reliable guidance to make informed decisions. This infodemic has also been found to create distress and increase risks for mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety.Aim: To propose practical guidelines for public health and risk communication that will enhance current recommendations and will cut through the infodemic, supporting accessible, reliable, actionable, and inclusive communication. The guidelines aim to support basic human psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness to support well-being and sustainable behavior change.Method: We applied the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and concepts from psychology, philosophy and human computer interaction to better understand human behaviors and motivations and propose practical guidelines for public health communication focusing on well-being and sustainable behavior change. We then systematically searched the literature for research on health communication strategies during COVID-19 to discuss our proposed guidelines in light of the emerging literature. We illustrate the guidelines in a communication case study: wearing face-coverings.Findings: We propose five practical guidelines for public health and risk communication that will cut through the infodemic and support well-being and sustainable behavior change: (1) create an autonomy-supportive health care climate; (2) provide choice; (3) apply a bottom-up approach to communication; (4) create solidarity; (5) be transparent and acknowledge uncertainty.Conclusion: Health communication that starts by fostering well-being and basic human psychological needs has the potential to cut through the infodemic and promote effective and sustainable behavior change during such pandemics. Our guidelines provide a starting point for developing a concrete public health communication strategy.

This entry defines public health and health communication while offering insights on how both can be useful to address the needs of different sectors of diverse populations, specifically Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Next, the entry highlights how public health communication can shift and be useful to combat issues that have historically impacted disenfranchised populations nationally and internationally, especially as it relates to current health issues like COVID‐19. Next the entry addresses the importance of public health and health communication that combats issues of mistrust and inequities. The entry concludes by addressing ways that community‐based initiatives can be successful to minimize mistrust and facilitate transparency. It offers a call to action for public health organizations, health communication specialists, and clinicians to shift the practice of public health communication and rethink the status quo with innovative and uncharted constructs.

This chapter focuses on COVID-19 and public health communications, including trust in public health communications and the “war” on the media. The authors write from a social determinants perspective, using Viswanath’s communication inequalities framework, which emphasizes disparities in people’s access to and consumption of media. Communication influences at the cultural, societal, and political levels and their impacts on COVID-19-related beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors are emphasized. Particular attention is focused on the role of social media (Facebook, Twitter) in disseminating alternative narratives about the pandemic. In addition, this chapter describes ongoing challenges in vaccinating the public due to vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccine sentiment. The authors provide recommendations for health communicators on how to address communication inequalities and combat mis- and disinformation to successfully disseminate trustworthy, clear, and actionable information.

Background:Communication is central to effective public health practice, with all roles and functions requiring proficiency in communication. A competency-based approach to public health enhances workforce development and helps ensure adaptability and collaboration by equipping professionals with the practical skills needed to address complex and evolving public health challenges, including through communication.Methods:Semi-structured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis were conducted to explore the perspectives of public health communication experts (researchers and practitioners) regarding the importance of public health communication, the challenges and opportunities faced by the field of practice, and the specialized competencies required for strengthened communication in modernized public health practice.Results:Twelve key informants were interviewed, and seven interrelated themes were generated from the data. The themes were organized in three main areas: the importance of public health communication, the various levels of influence on effective communication, and the support needed for strengthened communication capacity. Participants stressed the importance of partnerships and collaboration, dedicated resources, ongoing professional development, and tools to facilitate the implementation of the specialized competencies.Conclusions:A competency-based approach, including specialized roles and education and training programs aligned with updated communication competencies, will empower public health to tackle modern challenges. This research contributes to a multi-step research project to develop a Canadian public health communication competency framework and supports ongoing efforts to strengthen the public health workforce in Canada.

Background Theoretical knowledge about health communication (HC) and expertise in planning, implementation and evaluation of HC interventions are essential tools for Public Health (PH) specialists. In the social media (SM) era, specific abilities and digital communication skills are gaining importance. Objective Our aim is to describe European PH residents’ perceptions regarding their training in the HC field, with a focus on SM. We piloted a survey using Google Forms during the European Network of Medical Residents in PH (EuroNet MRPH) meeting in Turin, April 2019. We then spread the survey to other PH residents across Europe in July 2019. The survey consists of 25 questions (Likert scales from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree, or multiple-choices) divided in 5 thematic sections (HC theory, public speaking, traditional media based HC, SM based HC, HC impact evaluation). Questions aim to map HC topics covered in residency educational programs, learning methods, and the perceived importance of HC skills. Results The study included 114 residents from 10 countries (37% Italy, 23% Portugal, 10% UK, 9% Spain, 8% France, 13% other). Participants perceived they receive the best training in the areas of public speaking, impact assessment and HC theory (median 3, IQR 2-4). Conversely, for traditional and SM based HC, training was perceived as unsatisfactory (median 2, IQR 1-4 and 1-3 respectively) with self-education as main learning method (51%). Public speaking and traditional HC were identified as the most important HC skills for PH specialists (median 5, IQR 5-5), while less importance was attributed to SM based HC (median 3,5, IQR 3,25-5). Conclusions Despite SM are playing a crucial role in public HC, specific training seems to be scarce in this sample. Although residents perceive SM based HC skills as important, they consider them less important than other HC skills. Further analysis is needed in order to explore the perceived relevance of SM in PH residents training. Key messages Training on health communication via social media is scarce among European public health residencies. Common training programs across European residencies in PH should address this educational need. European public health residents perceive social media based health communication skills as important, but not as important as traditional media based health communication skills.

The perceived safety of vaccination is an important explanatory factor for vaccine uptake and, consequently, for rates of illness and death. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate Canadian attitudes around the safety of the H1N1 vaccine during the fall 2009 influenza pandemic and (2) to consider how public health communications can leverage the Internet to counteract, in real time, anti-vaccine sentiment. We surveyed a random sample of 175,257 Canadian web users from October 27 to November 19, 2009, about their perceptions of the safety of the HINI vaccine. In an independent analysis, we also assessed the popularity of online flu vaccine-related information using a tool developed for this purpose. A total of 27,382 unique online participants answered the survey (15.6% response rate). Of the respondents, 23.4% considered the vaccine safe, 41.4% thought it was unsafe and 35.2% reported ambivalence over its safety. Websites and blog posts with anti-vaccine sentiment remained popular during the course of the pandemic. Current public health communication and education strategies about the flu vaccine can be complemented by web analytics that identify, track and neutralize anti-vaccine sentiment on the Internet, thus increasing perceived vaccine safety. Counter-marketing strategies can be transparent and collaborative, engaging online "influencers" who spread misinformation.

Health communication promotes public and individual health. Psychophysiological indices can unveil the unconscious emotional variables that influence audience's representations of these communications. This study explored emotional and cognitive responses to health communications using implicit (psychophysiological) and explicit (self-report) measurements. Twelve communications (health prevention, personal health, public health, Covid-19) were shown to N = 19 participants, while psychophysiological (i.e. Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), skin conductance level and response (SCL and SCR)) and self-report (Semantic Differential and Self-Assessment Mannikin (SAM)) data were collected. Higher arousal and physiological engagement (SCL) were observed for health prevention, public and personal health communications. Lower HRV values were found for health prevention compared to crisis communication (Covid-19 stimuli), suggesting higher emotional reactions and concern for the first topic. Self-report results confirmed psychophysiological findings. Overall, using public health communication activates objective indicators about emotional reactions that have important implications for the effectiveness of the communication itself.

Has traditional medicine had its day? The need to redefine academic medicine

Objectives/Goals: Access to accurate public health information is an essential component to ensuring health equity. We launched our social media channels on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to highlight, engage with, and bring culturally tailored and language appropriate health and research information to our target communities. Methods/Study Population: Monitoring engagement patterns with our content on each platform influenced the development of a range of innovative campaigns in both English and Spanish that were informed by our core values of inclusivity, trust-building, ongoing bidirectional communication, and co-creation. These three platforms were chosen to ensure reach and engagement with the different demographics within our target populations. The campaigns included those that provided relevant and accurate health information, highlighted the diversity of our team, uplifted our community partners, and gave voice to our community members. This content included health-related infographics, mini-documentary reels, video essays, interviews, and photos. Results/Anticipated Results: We assessed effectiveness, reach, and engagement based on the robustness of the analytics for each platform. Facebook content, the majority of which is in Spanish, appealed more to older, Latino community members. TikTok content appealed more to younger (under 35), primarily English-speaking community members, while Instagram appealed more to organizational partners and community health workers. A 2023 trendline analysis of average monthly Instagram content reach and interactions indicated a moderate-to-strong relationship between our tailored content and audience engagement. Storytelling techniques consistently outperformed other content types across platforms, and community partner collaboration drastically enhanced our visibility, reach, and further validated our approach. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Social media has become increasingly central to bidirectional information dissemination. Implementing tailored strategies and leveraging storytelling techniques is an effective means of engaging diverse audiences, enhancing public health communication, and building and maintaining trust by providing accurate, accessible information.

BackgroundRecent advances in digital health technology offer the potential to overcome established access barriers to mental health support, such as stigma and geographical location. The World Health Organization recommends integrating digital technologies into mental health care, underscoring the need for countries to develop national digital mental health (DMH) strategies to guide efforts. The rate of development and availability of DMH tools currently outpaces the existing policy or regulatory guidance required to guide their use. In Ireland, a key requirement of the national mental health strategy, Sharing the Vision, was the development of a national DMH strategy. Key stakeholders in DMH research, policy, practice, and lived experience were brought together as part of a focused stakeholder engagement event to develop a shared vision for digital mental health in Ireland.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the views of DMH stakeholders to set priorities for the development of a national DMH strategy.MethodsForty-seven stakeholders were each assigned to 1 of 6 focused strategy discussion groups. Invited stakeholders included experts in DMH research, clinical practice, and mental health advocacy and policy, together with those with lived experience of accessing mental health services. Qualitative data were analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach. Researchers followed the 6-step framework proposed by Braun and Clarke. Reflexive thematic analysis emphasizes intentionality and critical thought, highlighting researchers’ deliberate interpretation of data while being aware of how their perspectives shape the conclusions.ResultsA total of 5 major themes were identified: inclusive access, being user-led, trust, education and training, and connectedness. These major themes were related to 15 subthemes. The inclusive access theme comprised inclusivity, accessibility, and early intervention subthemes. The user-led theme encompassed coproduction, choice, and needs-led subthemes. Compelling narrative; regulation, policy, and governance; and evidence base subthemes were identified within the theme of trust. The subthemes of digital literacy, mental health literacy, and transformation were identified within the education and training theme. Finally, the connectedness theme incorporated the subthemes of integration, relationships, and stigma.ConclusionsOverall, delegates viewed digital technology as a potential enabler of accessible and inclusive mental health support. However, it was also seen as a potential barrier to access and inclusion if concerns regarding data privacy, education and training needs, regulation, and the need for a more a robust evidence base were not addressed. Coproduction at all stages was identified as key to reducing access barriers, enhancing inclusion, and maintaining trust. Themes identified informed a follow-on consensus-seeking process to further refine and prioritize the proposed actions of the first national DMH strategy.

Effective communication is critical in healthcare facilitation. Our aim is to illustrate the impact of digital communication tools in the field of neurosurgery based on the cumulative recently published reports to show an evidence-based review of both benefits and limitations. We performed a systematic review of records published from January 2003 to March 2018. A specific set of keywords such as "digital" and "communication" were used on PubMed database to conduct a thorough online search. 13articles, out of 52, were comprehensively studied after complying with our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Many of the reviewed studies reported several applications of digital health communication tools in neurosurgery including 46% (6/13) in the Emergency Room and 23% (3/13) in the Operating Room. 38.5% (5/13) were applied in teaching hospitals. Reviewed studies were divided into two groups according to their applications (interventional (3/13) and non-interventional (10/13)). In the Emergency Room, digital health tools facilitated timely diagnosis and management, while in the operating room it permitted revolutionary robotic surgery. It showed potential for "no-risk learning" at academic institutions. While the fruitful impacts were convincing of the digital communication tools' ability to enhance healthcare in neurosurgery, proper adherence to regulations against data loss and theft, two potential complications of digital tool misuse, must be maintained. Additionally, bothtime efficiency and the necessity of waiting for better implementation of communication tools proved to be obstacles to consistent digital tool integration.

Understanding ethnic inequalities in the design and implementation of digital health interventions for cardiometabolic disease: a qualitative study

The Role of Graduate Medical Education in the Fight Against Health Misinformation.

IntroductionGenerative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT-4o and Gemini are rapidly influencing public health research and communication. Their capacity to assist with drafting, summarising, and translating content offers significant potential, particularly in multilingual and resource-limited settings.This narrative review critically explored the adoption of GenAI tools in public health research and communication, focusing on their practical applications and ethical implications.MethodsThis narrative review synthesised 18 recent peer-reviewed and grey literature (2023–2025) to explore the role of GenAI in public health research and communication. A hybrid human–AI approach was used, where colour-coded manual coding was combined with AI-supported thematic analysis. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed, verified, and refined by the author.ResultsFive key themes were identified: (1) Supporting scientific research writing tasks; (2) enhancing language clarity and scientific tone; (3) bridging the gap between science and the public; (4) ethical concerns and quality assurance; and (5) future potential and the need for upskilling.DiscussionGenAI can democratise and accelerate public health research publication and communication, provided it is used transparently and critically. Human oversight and contextual judgement remain essential to ensure responsible use.ConclusionWith thoughtful implementation, GenAI can enhance human expertise in the realm of public health, academia and scientific communication. It offers an emerging opportunity to strengthen public health research and communication, particularly when supported by ethical guidelines, training, and institutional leadership.

The integration of social media into daily life has revolutionized the way health information is shared, consumed, and perceived. This paper examines the dynamic interplay between social media platforms and public perception of health trends, focusing on how digital communication tools shape health behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge dissemination. Through an examination of leading platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, the study investigates how platform-specific features affect health communication and user engagement. The paper also analyzes the implications of health misinformation, the amplification of viral health trends, and the psychological effects of constant exposure to health-related content. Cross-cultural perspectives, particularly the responses to the plastic straw ban and Panda mascot trend in the U.S. and China, provide insight into consumer behavior and cultural framing. This multifaceted analysis reveals the potential of social media as both a facilitator of positive health discourse and a channel for harmful misinformation, emphasizing the need for improved digital literacy and strategic public health communication in the digital age. Keywords: Social Media, Public Health Communication, Health Misinformation, Digital Literacy, Health Trends, Mental Health and Social Media, TikTok Health Campaigns.