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Understanding the impact of exposure to health and medicines misinformation on public trust in the pharmaceutical industry: a UK mixed-methods study (PHARMAFICTION)

Mapping the effects of disinformation on trust in medicines and the pharmaceutical sector

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN14367716
Enrollment
50000
Registered
2026-07-13
Start date
2026-07-01
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2026-08-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Exposure to health misinformation and disinformation

Interventions

This is a 36-month mixed-methods observational study comprising two components: 1. Electronic survey (quantitative). Approximately 50,000 community-dwelling adults across the UK will be invited to co

Sponsors

Imperial College London
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 99 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Individuals aged 18 years and over 2. Individuals who reside in the United Kingdom 3. Individuals who are willing and able to provide informed consent and participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Does not meet inclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Prevalence of self-reported behaviour change attributed to health misinformation and disinformation among community-dwelling adults in the UK measured using Self-reported responses captured via a pseudonymised electronic questionnaire (Qualtrics), analysed using descriptive statistical methods at Measured cross-sectionally at the point of survey completion (single timepoint per participant)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Emergent themes regarding knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards health misinformation, and the perceived role of pharmacies in tackling misinformation in community settings measured using Thematic analysis of transcribed semi-structured interviews at At completion of the qualitative interview phase;Impact of pharmaceutical or health mis/disinformation on public trust, perceptions of industry credibility, and patterns of medicine use or adherence measured using Self-reported responses via Qualtrics eSurvey, analysed using descriptive statistics, triangulated with qualitative interview findings at At point of survey completion (survey) and at completion of interviews (qualitative);Differential impacts of health or pharmaceutical mis/disinformation across demographic groups and communication channels measured using Subgroup descriptive analysis of survey data by demographic variables (age, gender, ethnicity, region, employment status) and reported sources of mis/disinformation at At point of survey completion;Proportion of survey respondents willing to be contacted for a personal interview measured using Count and proportion of survey respondents providing contact details at the end of the Qualtrics eSurvey at At point of survey completion

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactAusten El-Osta
a.el-osta@imperial.ac.uk+44 20 7594 7604

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 25, 2026