Integrating infoveillance, infodemiology, and consequential intervention research in our public health systems to better protect and promote the health of Canadians: ideas and perspectives

Abstract

There is no longer any doubt that exposure to the tsunami of health information which is sometimes evidence-based and sometimes unfounded and even misleading, is a public health issue. The term infodemic is used to describe this phenomenon. Research conducted over the past two decades has provided a measure of the extent of information overload and of the quality of information to which populations are exposed. Selected harmful effects have also been observed. It is urgent to mobilize and structure public health systems by involving all the required expertise to combat health misinformation and better manage the infodemic. Towards this end, we are launching a call for critical thinking around three themes: the infosphere as a social determinant of health, the development of skills in infodemiology, and finally, the development, cocreation, and evaluation of consequential interventions to better manage the infodemic and combat disinformation. We believe that lessons learned collectively from the successful integration of infoveillance, infodemiology, and consequential intervention research in our public health systems will serve to better address issues emerging from infodemics.