Medical students’ awareness and infodemic management capacity: A descriptive study from Türkiye

Year 2025, Volume: 23 Issue: 1, 35 - 43, 25.04.2025

Dilek Aslan , Kervin Raymond , Ercüment Altıntaş , Gülsen Güneş , Meltem Şengelen , Banu Buruk Ferda Özyurda

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the awareness and infodemic management capacity of medical students at three different medical faculties in Türkiye.
Method: Conducted as a descriptive study, an online survey via Google Forms® was distributed to students from three medical faculties throughout 2023-2024 academic year. The survey aimed to evaluate students’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceived readiness concerning infodemic management.
Results: The participants were predominantly female (58.2%) with a mean age of 21.2 years, and all were single. Notably, 67.9% of the students had not previously heard of infodemic. However, a significant majority recognized the infodemic as a global threat (92.5%), beyond Coronavirus Disease-2019 (99.3%), with negative health impacts (93.3%), including fatalities (70.9%). Despite this, only 55.9% believed that infodemics are preventable. Importantly, 94.8% acknowledged the role of doctors in managing infodemics.
Conclusion: The study highlights a gap in the medical curriculum regarding infodemic management training, as transparency and the importance of managing infodemics are not fully appreciated by all students. These findings suggest the necessity of integrating infodemic management training into medical education to better equip future healthcare professionals. This research adds to the limited scientific literature on infodemic management and underscores the need for enhanced proficiency among medical students in this emerging field.

Keywords

Infodemic, Medical Students, Physician Role, Medical Education

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