Health misinformation is a critical threat to global public health. It erodes confidence in vaccines and medicines, fuels pandemic denialism, promotes unproven treatments, and undermines public health efforts. Medical Affairs sits at the centre of this challenge. We have a clear ethical responsibility to ensure patients make informed, evidence-based decisions about their care, and to equip healthcare professionals with the information and tools needed to address misinformation in the clinical setting. However, this approach carries inherent time and resource limitations.

In this episode, we explore the role of Digital Opinion Leaders (DOLs) as a core pillar of modern healthcare communications. DOLs have the power to shape conversations, steer search behaviours, and can either amplify misinformation or help correct it. We examine the different DOL profiles and personas, discuss best practices for building effective long-term partnerships that leverage their individuality, preferences, and regional specificities, and consider how DOL engagement should be embedded into medical and cross-functional planning.

We will draw on early insights from an ongoing pilot in Sub-Saharan Africa, analysing how patients and healthcare workers use social platforms and messaging apps – enabling us to identify trusted DOLs we can partner with to design effective health education and advocacy programmes.