SynthesisBMC public health2025
Strategies and prerequisites for combating health misinformation on social media: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Social Media Use and Health: What We Have Known So Far, and What We Need to Investigate in the Future.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Review
- Use of digital platforms and social media as a source of information on children's oral health by parents: a cross-sectional survey analysis in a Spanish sample.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe speed and complexity of transmitting health misinformation through social media can lead to the transfer of information that causes irreparable damage to the state of health, control, and prevention of diseases. This research aimed to identify the prerequisites and best strategies for combating health misinformation on social media.
methodThe current systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA guidelines. In September 2024, a search was conducted using "misinformation" and "social media" keywords and their equivalents in selected databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed). Inclusion criteria comprised the implementation of an intervention aimed at combating health misinformation on social media, while studies not in English and those that did not address health misinformation on social media were excluded. The data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis method. EndNote 21 and Excel 2021 software were used to collect and analyze the articles.
resultOut of 6395 identified articles, 20 articles were included in the present study. Half of the studies addressing health misinformation were published in 2023 and 2024, with the United States leading the way. The combat of COVID-19 misinformation was the most frequent. From the content analysis of the included studies in a total of three strategies: communication strategies, technology-based strategies, and multimedia strategies to combat health misinformation on social media, it was identified. Four categories: needs assessment, educating community leaders, content design, and content quality assessment, were identified as the primary prerequisites to combat health misinformation on social media.
conclusionCombating health information in social media requires basic infrastructures and the use of hybrid approaches. In addition, due to the different roles of celebrities and influencers, reputable health organizations and healthcare institutions should benefit from their participation in combating health misinformation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.