[Commlist] Call for Papers: Special Issue on "Mis- and Disinformation about COVID-19: Challenges for Health Communication" of the European Journal of Health Communication (EJHC)

Call for Papers: Special Issue on "*Mis- and Disinformation about 
COVID-19: Challenges for Health Communication"* of the European Journal 
of Health Communication (EJHC)


Link: https://ejhc.org/calls <https://ejhc.org/calls>


Guest Editors: Sabrina H. Kessler (University of Zurich) & Philipp 
Schmid (University of Erfurt)


Millions of lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (World 
Health Organization [WHO], 2021). However, scientific knowledge on how 
to effectively respond to COVID-19 outbreaks has also increased 
considerably in a very short time (Weiner at al., 2020). For example, 
several research teams have developed promising COVID-19 vaccines, and, 
as of April 2021, about 732 million vaccination doses have been 
administered worldwide (WHO, 2021). Further success in reducing the 
COVID-19 burden relies on the public’s awareness and acceptance of 
scientific knowledge. Health communication plays an essential role in 
the complex relationship between scientific knowledge and individuals’ 
beliefs and behaviours. However, attempts by health communicators to 
inform and educate individuals about the characteristics of the disease 
and effective prevention measures compete with persuasive mis- and 
disinformation, especially online (Lewandowsky et al., 2021). Studies 
reveal that misinformation about COVID-19 undermines trust in 
institutions (Pummerer et al., 2020), decreases willingness to undertake 
effective prevention measures such as vaccination (Loomba et al., 2021) 
and adds to the overabundance of (mis-)information that makes it 
difficult for individuals to find trustworthy sources – an overabundance 
known as an infodemic (WHO, 2020). That is, mis- and disinformation pose 
major challenges for health communication around the globe.

To master these challenges and prepare for future public health crises, 
it is vital to understand mis- and disinformation surrounding COVID-19. 
What kinds of mis- and disinformation do individuals encounter off- and 
online? What impact do these have on cognition, emotions, attitudes and 
behaviours? Which groups are specifically susceptible to mis- and 
disinformation, and how can theory-based interventions be designed to 
combat mis- and disinformation surrounding COVID-19?

The special issue therefore calls for papers analysing a) the 
presentation and dissemination of off- and online mis- and 
disinformation about COVID-19 in interpersonal communication or mass 
media channels, b) the effects of mis- and disinformation on individual 
decision makers with respect to their cultural, political and economic 
context, as well as the cognitive and social drivers of belief in mis- 
and disinformation and c) the effectiveness of potential interventions 
to combat mis- and disinformation in interpersonal communication or mass 
media channels. Thus, submissions can address, but are not limited to, 
the following questions and concepts:


Presentation and Dissemination of Mis- and Disinformation about COVID-19

• Which actors, communicator groups and networks, communication 
strategies and target audiences can be identified in the dissemination 
of disinformation about COVID-19? How prevalent are they in public 
discourse, and which people contribute to this reach?

• How do mis- and disinformation about COVID-19 spread on the internet 
and especially on social media? How do the affordances of online 
platforms influence this?

• What kinds of taxonomies can be used to categorise mis- and 
disinformation about COVID-19?


Effects of Mis- and Disinformation about COVID-19

• What are the effects of mis- and disinformation about COVID-19 on 
cognition, emotions, attitudes and intended future and/or actual 
behaviour, such as vaccination?

• What different psychological, social, cultural and contextual 
variables can be identified that influence an individual’s 
susceptibility to misinformation?

• What functions do the content (e.g. conspiracy theories, logical 
fallacies and fake news), the media or the communication type (e.g. 
memes, comments or flyers) have regarding the effectiveness of mis- and 
disinformation?


Debunking and Prebunking of Mis- and Disinformation about COVID-19

• What different debunking strategies can be distinguished in their 
effectiveness with respect to different target groups?

• What are the influence variables (personal, content or context 
variables) to consider for successful prebunking and debunking?

• What can be learned from research about unintended effects when 
combating mis- and disinformation about COVID-19?


The special issue calls for basic research describing and explaining 
these aspects but also welcomes applied research seeking to solve 
practical health communication issues. It is interested in theories, 
methods and empirical work in the study of mis- and disinformation about 
COVID-19.


Submission Format

We welcome submissions that fit any of the EJHC formats: original 
research papers, theoretical papers, methodological papers, review 
articles, brief research reports. For further information on the article 
types, please see http://www.ejhc.org/about/submissions 
<http://www.ejhc.org/about/submissions>


Deadline for submission is *31 October 2021*. There are no submission 
and publication charges.


Review Process

All articles will undergo a rigorous peer review process. Once the paper 
has been assessed as appropriate by the editorial management team (with 
regard to form, content, and quality), it will be peer-reviewed by at 
least two reviewers in a double-blind review process. To ensure short 
publication processes, EJHC releases articles online on a rolling basis, 
expected to start in May 2022.


European Journal of Health Communication

The European Journal of Health Communication (EJHC) is a peer-reviewed 
open access journal for high-quality health communication research with 
relevance to Europe or specific European countries.


Contact Guest Editors and Links

Sabrina H. Kessler, University of Zurich (Switzerland) 
s.kessler(at)ikmz.uzh.ch <http://ikmz.uzh.ch>

Philipp Schmid, University of Erfurt (Germany) 
philipp.schmid(at)uni-erfurt.de <http://uni-erfurt.de>

Journal website: www.ejhc.org <http://www.ejhc.org>

Journal e-mail address: contact(at)ejhc.org <http://ejhc.org>


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------