Online Journal of Public Health Informatics

Social media has become deeply embedded in medical training, yet its influence on professionalism and the developing professional identity of medical students and early-career doctors remains insufficiently understood, particularly in non-Western contexts.

Patient portals are increasingly used to support self-management and facilitate care coordination in people with chronic diseases. Although some asthma quality-of-care gains and modest chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improvements have been reported in wider digital health studies, a comprehensive review of patient portal-specific evidence is lacking.

Skin neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the most prevalent diseases worldwide, affecting people living in resource-limited areas with low health care services and trained professionals. While machine learning (ML)–based diagnostic tools can be used for initial clinical assessment and patient screening, especially in resource-limited areas (including in Ethiopia), little effort has been made in this area.

Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly emerging in health care, offering opportunities in decision support, education, and research, but raising critical concerns about safety, reliability, and ethics. Although several guidelines for trustworthy AI exist in business and technology, few systematic reviews have applied them to medical contexts.

Financial toxicity can contribute to adverse health and care-access outcomes among US veterans, yet scalable methods to identify individuals at elevated risk remain limited. Public health informatics frameworks may enable the translation of patient-reported financial risk signals into streamlined screening, risk stratification, and care-navigation workflows.

The transition of social health care tools from paper-based to web-based formats is increasingly common in social and health care settings. While digital delivery may improve accessibility, flexibility, and scalability, such transitions require careful adaptation of content, design, and workflows. However, evidence on how these transitions are carried out in practice, and which challenges and strategies are involved, remains fragmented.

Smartphone-based imaging has shown promise in teledentistry; yet, patient comfort during its use compared with intraoral cameras remains underexplored.

AI has become an essential component of modern health care delivery in Epic (Epic Systems Corporation) electronic medical record (EMR) systems, supporting predictive analytics, diagnostic decision-making, and population health management. Despite these advancements, evidence reveals that AI algorithms can perpetuate or even amplify existing health inequities through biased training data and flawed model design. Such algorithmic bias poses ethical challenges for health care leadership, regulatory compliance, and executive communication, especially in ensuring patient equity, transparency, and public accountability.

Completion of the HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) Childhood Immunization Status Combination 10 (Combo 10) measure among US children aged 24-35 months declined from 53.7% in 2021 to 44.6% in 2023, with a statistically significant survey-weighted annual trend. An explainable machine learning approach identified influenza vaccination and rotavirus series completion as the strongest component-level drivers of Combo 10 completion, supporting targeted public health quality improvement.

Rapid AI integration has introduced novel psychosocial stressors. Little is known about AI-specific clinical impacts in resource-limited settings. This study aimed to assess AI-associated distress prevalence and nature in a Nigerian primary care and psychiatry clinic. Retrospective audit of 28 consecutive patients with anxiety, depression, or stress (April–August 2025) at J-Shalom Hospital, a primary care and psychiatry clinic in Ibadan. Technology-related stressor questions adapted from the AIAS (Artificial Intelligence Anxiety Scale) were incorporated into routine clinical interviews; C-SSRS (Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale) evaluated suicidality as part of standard clinical practice. A total of 67.9% (19/28; 95% CI 49.3%‐82.1%) reported technology stress; 42.9% (12/28; 95% CI 26.5%‐60.9%) identified AI-specific stressors. Chatbot distress was most common (n=7/12, 58.3%). Three patients (25.0%; 95% CI 8.9%‐53.2%) reported worsening suicidal ideation following distressing chatbot interactions characterized by perceived rejection or invalidation. AI stressors are emerging clinical presentations. The chatbot–suicidality link demands urgent regulatory attention.

Robust and reliable health information systems (HISs) are foundational to equitable health care delivery in resource-constrained settings. Yet, HISs often exhibit significant fragmentation and complexity, which stem from many factors, including inadequate infrastructure, limited and unevenly allocated financial resources, expertise gaps, and a lack of integrated systems. At the same time, advances in modern HISs and digital technologies, such as electronic medical records (EMRs), present opportunities for addressing these limitations and supporting evidence-based health systems if well implemented and sustained. However, limited attention has been paid to how modern and resilient HISs can be effectively sustained in fragile, resource-constrained settings.

Digital health care technologies, including mobile applications and telemedicine platforms, have transformed how medical professionals communicate and deliver care. Remote consultation by doctors plays a vital role in ensuring access to appropriate expertise, particularly in medically underserved or geographically remote areas. However, the diversity in technological modalities, devices, and patterns of use across specialties and regions has not been systematically mapped.