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Health and Healthcare Communication in the Pandemic Era: Opportunities and Constraints

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Digital Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 24159

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giacomo Scaioli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Università degli Studi di Torino, 10126 Turin, Italy
Interests: public health; healthcare communication; e-health; health promotion; health education; healthcare management
Dr. Giuseppina Lo Moro

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health Sciences and Paediatrics, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
Interests: vaccine hesitancy; public mental health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to deep changes both in the everyday practices of healthcare professionals and in the policies of health-related public institutions. Perhaps the greatest reform occurred in the field of communication, which involves all healthcare actors, from the single healthcare professional to the biggest institutions. The need to avoid social gatherings, and to assist COVID-19 patients who were isolated, led to an increase in the use of telemedicine tools. The need to provide quick and reliable information to the general population caused public institutions to find new and innovative ways to transmit pandemic-related messages. Social media raised their key role in the spread of (real and fake) news and information, thus acting as a potential tool to reach people, but also potentially contributing to the current infodemic.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect studies that investigated the recent changes in the field of healthcare communication, especially (but not exclusively) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, to underline the strengths, limitations, opportunities and constraints of these changes.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • telemedicine and telehealth;
  • healthcare communication;
  • continuity of care;
  • information overload;
  • role of social media in healthcare;
  • digital inequalities and digital divide;
  • infodemic, fake news and conspiracy theories.

Dr. Giacomo Scaioli
Dr. Giuseppina Lo Moro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • health communication
  • telemedicine
  • telehealth
  • social media
  • digital inequalities
  • infodemic
  • fake news
  • information overload
  • digital divide

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 682 KiB  
Article
How Portuguese Health Entities Used Social Media to Face the Public Health Emergency during COVID-19 Disease
by Daniela Azevedo, Ana Isabel Plácido, Maria Teresa Herdeiro, Fátima Roque and Vítor Roque
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 11942; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191911942 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1488
Abstract
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media became an important and easily accessible source of information to keep the population informed. In this study, we explored how Portuguese health entities used social media during the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 disease. Methods: [...] Read more.
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media became an important and easily accessible source of information to keep the population informed. In this study, we explored how Portuguese health entities used social media during the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 disease. Methods: A retrospective study on Portuguese public health entities’ communication with the public using social media platforms was performed. Data were retrieved from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. All retrieved posts were analyzed, and the engagement of the public was calculated. A thematic analysis of all COVID-19-related posts was conducted. Results: The analysis of each social media platform revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, health entities reinforced their presence on social media platforms. The most published posts were related to “epidemiological context” and “encouragement to take actions” to avoid the spread of COVID-19. High engagement frames were not associated with the most frequently published posts. Conclusions: Although health entities have reinforced their presence on social media platforms, they do not take full advantage of these platforms to improve health literacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Healthcare Communication in the Pandemic Era: Opportunities and Constraints)
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12 pages, 375 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Relationship between COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal and Belief in Fake News and Conspiracy Theories: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in Italy
by Giuseppina Lo Moro, Giacomo Scaioli, Fabrizio Bert, Andrea Lorenzo Zacchero, Ettore Minutiello and Roberta Siliquini
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9350; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159350 - 30 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2000
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic, which includes fake news (FNs) and conspiracy theories (CTs), and which may worsen vaccine refusal (VR), thus hindering the control of the transmission. This study primarily aimed to assess COVID-19 VR in Italy and [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic, which includes fake news (FNs) and conspiracy theories (CTs), and which may worsen vaccine refusal (VR), thus hindering the control of the transmission. This study primarily aimed to assess COVID-19 VR in Italy and its relationship with belief in FNs/CTs. Secondarily, it explored the conviction in FNs and CTs and associated variables. An online cross-sectional study was conducted in Italy (2021). The primary outcome was VR and secondary outcomes were FN misclassification score (0% to 100%: higher score means higher misclassification) and CT belief score (1 to 5: higher score means higher agreement). There were 1517 participants; 12.3% showed VR. The median FN and CT scores were: 46.7% (IQR = 40–56.7%) and 2.8 (IQR = 2.2–3.4). Age, education, FN, and CT scores had significant associations with VR. Education, economic situation, health and e-health literacy showed significant relationships with secondary outcomes. Study/work background had a significant association only with the FN score. FN and CT scores were associated. This work estimated a VR lower than before the first COVID-19 vaccine approval. The relationship between VR and FN/CT belief represents a new scenario, suggesting the need for planning effective strategies to tackle FNs and CTs to implement successful vaccination campaigns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Healthcare Communication in the Pandemic Era: Opportunities and Constraints)
18 pages, 1159 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior in a Sample of Italian Women: The “SEI Donna” Study
by Loredana Covolo, Miriam Guana, Guglielmo Bonaccorsi, Laura Brunelli, Silvana Castaldi, Antonella De Donno, Alessandra Mereu, Marco Verani and Umberto Gelatti
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4745; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084745 - 14 Apr 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2610
Abstract
There is much discussion about the skills of people in understanding and managing online health information. The Italian survey “SEI Donna” aimed to investigate perceptions and use of the web in women regarding health issues considering their health literacy (HL) and healthcare skills. [...] Read more.
There is much discussion about the skills of people in understanding and managing online health information. The Italian survey “SEI Donna” aimed to investigate perceptions and use of the web in women regarding health issues considering their health literacy (HL) and healthcare skills. We used an online questionnaire to explore different aspects of online health-related information-seeking behavior. The study participants (n = 7027) were categorized into healthcare workers (HW), healthcare students (HS), and non-healthcare women (non-HW). Half the sample (52%) searched online for a second opinion after the medical examination without statistical difference among HW, HS, and non-HW. Women in the age range of 26–40 years (OR = 1.28, p < 0.001), having chronic illness (OR = 1.48; p < 0.001), and being moderately (OR = 1.58; p < 0.001) or not satisfied (OR = 2.04; p < 0.001) with healthcare professionals were more likely to use the Internet to seek medical insight. Overall, 34% of women had a functional HL, the same being higher in HW (64%) and in HS (43%) than the rest of the women (18%) (p < 0.0001). The suboptimal HL suggests the need to improve HL in the general population to be skilled in surfing the web and, at the same time, to reorganize health training to improve the HL of healthcare professionals, also enriching their communication skills. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Healthcare Communication in the Pandemic Era: Opportunities and Constraints)
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Review

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18 pages, 1168 KiB  
Review
Economic and Performance Evaluation of E-Health before and after the Pandemic Era: A Literature Review and Future Perspectives
by Helena Biancuzzi, Francesca Dal Mas, Chiara Bidoli, Veronica Pegoraro, Maristella Zantedeschi, Pietro Antonio Negro, Stefano Campostrini and Lorenzo Cobianchi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4038; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054038 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2252
Abstract
E-Health represents one of the pillars of the modern healthcare system and a strategy involving the use of digital and telemedicine tools to provide assistance to an increasing number of patients, reducing, at the same time, healthcare costs. Measuring and understanding the economic [...] Read more.
E-Health represents one of the pillars of the modern healthcare system and a strategy involving the use of digital and telemedicine tools to provide assistance to an increasing number of patients, reducing, at the same time, healthcare costs. Measuring and understanding the economic value and performance of e-Health tools is, therefore, essential to understanding the outcome and best uses of such technologies. The aim of this paper is to determine the most frequently used methods for measuring the economic value and the performance of services in the framework of e-Health, considering different pathologies. An in-depth analysis of 20 recent articles, rigorously selected from more than 5000 contributions, underlines a great interest from the clinical community in economic and performance-related topics. Several diseases are the object of detailed clinical trials and protocols, leading to various economic outcomes, especially in the COVID-19 post-pandemic era. Many e-Health tools are mentioned in the studies, especially those that appear more frequently in people’s lives outside of the clinical setting, such as apps and web portals, which allow for clinicians to keep in contact with their patients. While such e-Health tools and programs are increasingly studied from practical perspectives, such as in the case of Virtual Hospital frameworks, there is a lack of consensus regarding the recommended models to map and report their economic outcomes and performance. More investigations and guidelines by scientific societies are advised to understand the potential and path of such an evolving and promising phenomenon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Healthcare Communication in the Pandemic Era: Opportunities and Constraints)
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22 pages, 1679 KiB  
Review
Impact of Social Media Use on Mental Health within Adolescent and Student Populations during COVID-19 Pandemic: Review
by Marija Draženović, Tea Vukušić Rukavina and Lovela Machala Poplašen
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3392; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043392 - 15 Feb 2023
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 14476
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our lives. By increased screen time during the pandemic, social media (SM) could have significantly impacted adolescents’ and students’ mental health (MH). This literature review aims to synthesize the research on the impact of SM usage on [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our lives. By increased screen time during the pandemic, social media (SM) could have significantly impacted adolescents’ and students’ mental health (MH). This literature review aims to synthesize the research on the impact of SM usage on MH of adolescents and students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A review of the published literature was conducted in April 2021, through a search of PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection databases. The search yielded 1136 records, with 13 articles selected for this review. Most of the included studies observed the negative impact of SM use on MH of adolescents and students, most noticeably observed were anxiety, depression and stress. More active and prolonged SM usage was associated with a negative impact on MH of adolescents and students. Two studies recorded some potentially positive effects, such as support in coping and providing a sense of connection for those who were isolated due to social distancing measures. Since this review focuses on the early period of the pandemic, future studies should investigate the long-term impact of SM use on adolescents and students MH, with all relevant elements that can enable adequate public health response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Healthcare Communication in the Pandemic Era: Opportunities and Constraints)
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