The Role of Public Health in Preventing Digital Harms

In recent years, the field of public health has witnessed a surge in the digitalization of technologies, which has transformed many aspects of healthcare and public interaction. While digital transformations have brought numerous benefits such as improved access to health information and innovative healthcare solutions, they also pose significant challenges. The pervasive integration of digital platforms into daily life has introduced a digital dimension to both new and existing public health problems, creating a complex landscape that warrants thorough investigation. Significant issues such as the impact of excessive screen time, mental health challenges associated with social media, the role of digital food environments in the obesity epidemic, and digital disparities exacerbating health inequalities highlight the pressing need for ongoing research and remediation.

This Research Topic aims to explore the pivotal role of public health in addressing the negative consequences of digital transformations. Key objectives include expanding the evidence base around the public health challenges due to digitalization, showcasing examples of countries proactively mitigating digital health harms, identifying best practices for promoting healthy digital behavior, and setting future research priorities. Given the urgent necessity to intervene, this topic will focus on understanding which technologies or platforms pose the greatest risks and delve into public health strategies that can be employed to minimize their adverse effects.

To gather further insights into the multi-faceted public health issues arising from digital transformations, this Research Topic will examine a broad array of themes that are both current and forward-looking. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Emerging public health challenges within the context of digital transformation
• Identification of the digital technologies or platform features presenting significant health challenges
• The role of public health in mitigating digital technology-related harms
• Lessons from past public health challenges applied to digital harms
• Results of public health interventions aimed at curtailing negative effects of digital transformations
• Ethical and legal considerations in combating health-related digital harms.

This Research Topic was launched in collaboration with the 10th Digital Public Health Conference, a world-leading annual interdisciplinary event on research and innovation in digital public health, organized by University College London. We welcome submissions from speakers, attendees and the broader research community.

Keywords: digital transformation, digital harm prevention, digital health

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.