Interventions to mitigate COVID-19 misinformation: protocol for a scoping review

Mitigating Health and Science Misinformation: A Scoping Review of Literature from 2017 to 2022

Literature on how to address misinformation has rapidly expanded in recent years. The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize the growing published literature on health and science misinformation mitigation interventions. English-language articles published from January 2017 to July 2022 were included. After title/abstract screening, 115 publications (148 empirical studies) met inclusion criteria and were coded for sample characteristics, topics, mitigation strategies, research methods, outcomes, and intervention efficacy. A marked increase in misinformation mitigation research was observed in 2020-2022. COVID-19, vaccines, and climate change were the most frequently addressed topics. Most studies used general population samples recruited online; few focused on populations most vulnerable to misinformation. Most studies assessed cognitive outcomes (e.g., knowledge), with fewer assessing health behavior, communication behavior, or skills. Correction (k = 97) was the most used misinformation mitigation strategy, followed by education and other literacy initiatives (k = 39) and prebunking/inoculation (k = 24). Intervention efficacy varied, with 76 studies reporting positive, 17 reporting null, and 68 reporting mixed results. Most misinformation mitigation interventions were limited to short-term online experiments focused on improving cognitive outcomes. Priority research areas going forward include expanding and diversifying study samples, scaling interventions, conducting longitudinal observations, and focusing on communities susceptible to misinformation.

Public health interventions to prevent adolescent vaping: a scoping review protocol

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the review is to systematically examine the emerging literature related to public health interventions aimed at preventing adolescent vaping.

INTRODUCTION

The prevalence of vaping among adolescents is a rising concern worldwide. A thorough investigation of existing public health interventions to prevent vaping among adolescents is imperative to reduce serious and avoidable vaping-related health risks for this cohort. Many vaping-prevention interventions have been described in the literature, but their key components and outcomes have not been summarized.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

All English literature related to public health interventions preventing adolescent (aged 10 to 18 years) vaping from all countries will be included.

METHODS

This review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A comprehensive search of academic and gray literature using MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Embase (Ovid), PubMed, PsycINFO (Ovid), ProQuest (Health and Medicine and Sociology Collections), and Web of Science Core Collection will be performed. Articles will be screened for inclusion by 2 independent reviewers. Results will be extracted using customized tools and summarized in a final report using narrative synthesis and presented in table format.

Social media users' perceptions about health mis- and disinformation on social media

This study used recently released nationally representative data with new measures on health information seeking to estimate the prevalence and predictors of adult social media users' perceptions of health mis- and disinformation on social media. Most adults who use social media perceive some (46%) or a lot (36%) of false or misleading health information on social media, but nearly one-fifth reported either none or a little (18%). More than two-thirds of participants reported that they were unable to assess social media information as true or false (67%). Our study identified certain population groups that might be a focus of future intervention work, such as participants who use social media to make decisions. The perception by social media users that false and misleading health information on social media is highly prevalent may lend greater urgency to mitigate the spread of false or misleading health information that harms public health.

Addressing the spread of health-related misinformation on social networks: an opinion article

This article deals with the spread of misinformation in a general context and specifically in the health sector. It presents a theoretical view of the problem and analyzes its characteristics with a focus on medicine and mainly rheumatology. Finally, conclusions from the previous analysis are formulated as well as suggestions for reducing the dimensions of the problem in the health sector.

Mapping evidence on factors contributing to maternal and child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review protocol

Background

Maternal and child mortality remains a major public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with the region having the highest under-five mortality rates, where approximately 1 in 11 children, dies before the age of 5 years. This is nearly 15 times the average in high-income countries (HICs). This scoping review is aimed at mapping evidence on the factors contributing to maternal and child mortality in SSA.

Methods

This study will be conducted using a scoping review to map existing literature on the factors contributing to maternal and child mortality in SSA. The search will comprise of peer-reviewed and grey literature, using the EBSCOhost platform. Keyword search from electronic databases such as PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Science Direct and World Health Organization library, will be conducted. Information will be obtained from the included studies, using a data charting table. We will use NVIVO version 10 software to analyse the data, and the narrative account of the study will be presented by means of a thematic content analysis.

Discussion

We expect to find relevant literature that can help us in mapping evidence on the factors contributing to maternal and child mortality in SSA. This study results are anticipated to identify research gaps and in turn, guide the design of future primary studies.

Systematic review protocol registration

Open Science Framework registration number (DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/XF5VN).