The influence of conspiratorial public narratives on public health issues - a narrative review and bibliometric analysis

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of conspiratorial narratives on the perception and management of social problems stemming from contemporary health crises, with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a narrative review of the recent scientific literature, the research explores how these narratives develop, propagate and influence individual and collective behaviours in relation to public health, particularly in the context of vaccination and health compliance. The psychosocial mechanisms that facilitate adherence to conspiratorial beliefs and the role of social networks and the digital environment in amplifying them are analysed. The paper highlights the social consequences of these discourses - including diminished trust in authorities, political polarization and diminished social cohesion - and underlines the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in formulating effective strategies to combat disinformation. By integrating thematic and bibliometric analyses, the study contributes to a complex understanding of this emerging phenomenon and suggests future research directions for strengthening social resilience in the face of misinformation. By demonstrating current approaches based on psychological orientation, it confirms the need to involve scientific approaches from other fields, including sociology and communication sciences, in the analysis of this phenomenon.