Science Communication & Media
“This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it.” – Improving epidemiology content on Wikipedia. Anna Palmer* Anna Palmer Palmer Columbia University
Wikipedia is one of the most widely used reference sources in the world, and is increasingly used to train large language models that shape how medical and public health information is accessed and summarized. At the same time, many articles describing fundamental epidemiologic concepts are incomplete, outdated, or misleading. Building on our symposium at the 2026 SER Mid Year Meeting, we aim to (1) provide background on how Wikipedia functions as part of the modern health information ecosystem, (2) highlight successful efforts from other scientific and medical fields that improved content through coordinated editing, and (3) describe ongoing initiatives focused on strengthening articles in epidemiology and related disciplines. Using examples from society-led programs, including the International League Against Epilepsy’s Wikipedia Epilepsy Project, we illustrate how organized participation has improved article quality while creating opportunities for student training and professional recognition. We then summarize efforts to improve epidemiology content since the 2026 SER Mid Year Meeting. The poster is intended as an information and engagement space, offering practical resources for getting involved in editing and an opportunity for discussion about how epidemiologists can collaboratively improve the reliability and visibility of epidemiologic knowledge on Wikipedia.