Published since 1922, the Pan American Journal of Public Health is the flagship scientific and technical periodical of the Pan American Health Organization. Its mission is to contribute to the production and dissemination of scientific public health information of international significance, mainly in areas related to PAHO's essential mission of strengthening health systems and improving the health of the peoples of the Americas.

Publication in the journal has no cost for authors, and all manuscripts are open access and free for readers.

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Selected manuscripts on international health days

Alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Objective

To assess the association between drinking behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, anxiety symptoms, and sociodemographic characteristics in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Analysis of fake news disseminated during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

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Objective.

To describe the characteristics of fake news about COVID-19 disseminated in Brazil from January to June 2020.

Roles for Health Care Professionals in Addressing Patient-Held Misinformation Beyond Fact Correction*

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Original English article published in the American Journal of Public Health: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305729

Concrete Recommendations for Cutting Through Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic*

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Original English article published in the American Journal of Public Health: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305922

Content Themes and Influential Voices Within Vaccine Opposition on Twitter, 2019*

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Original English article published in the American Journal of Public Health: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305901

Objective.

To report on vaccine opposition and misinformation promoted on Twitter, highlighting Twitter accounts that drive conversation.

Contrasting Misinformation and Real-Information Dissemination Network Structures on Social Media During a Health Emergency*

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Original English article published in the American Journal of Public Health: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305854

Objectives.

To provide a comprehensive workflow to identify top influential health misinformation about Zika on Twitter in 2016, reconstruct information dissemination networks of retweeting, contrast mis- from real information on various metrics, and investigate how Zika misinformation proliferated on social media during the Zika epidemic.

Where We Go From Here: Health Misinformation on Social Media*

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Original English article published in the American Journal of Public Health: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305905

Using a Global Pandemic as a Teachable Moment to Promote Vaccine Literacy and Build Resilience to Misinformation*

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Original English article published in the American Journal of Public Health: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305906

Who Is Susceptible to Online Health Misinformation?*

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Original English article published in the American Journal of Public Health: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305908

Infodemics and infodemiology: a short history, a long future

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An “infodemic” is defined as “an overabundance of information – some accurate and some not – occurring during an epidemic”. This paper describes the characteristics of an infodemic, which combines an inordinately high volume of information (leading to problems relating to locating the information, storage capacity, ensuring quality, visibility and validity) and rapid output (making it hard to assess its value, manage the gatekeeping process, apply results, track its history, and leading to a waste of effort).