Highlight on Health Information

Our health and the health of those we care about is important to everyone. Finding reliable information is more challenging than ever, but having access to information can also empower us to advocate for ourselves and others.

  • Fake news and misinformation around health issues is not new. The COVID-19 pandemic brought it to a new level though. Much of what you do to evaluate any source applies here, but you may want to take more steps to prevent the spread of misinformation.
  • The U.S Surgeon General, the National Library of Medicine, NIH, Medical Library Association, WHO and many others are addressing this challenge.

Below you will find some resources to guide you in your own evaluation or to learn ways to help others.

Surgeon General Advisory!

Surgeon General's Advisory

An advisory is meant to call the American people's attention to a public health issue and provides recommendations.

In 2021, the Surgeon General's office released, Confronting Health Misinformation.

APA Consensus Statement

  • Susceptibility: Why do People Believe Misinformation?
  • Growth: How and Why Does Misinformation Spread?
  • Response: Interventions to Counter Misinformation
  • Recommendations

Evaluating websites containing heath information

On the internet that might be a website or it could be a post on social media. Typically, a post on Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc. should include a link or reference where the information is coming from or where their claims are coming from.

Much like the S.I.F.T tool, you want to take your time to learn about the source.

investigate icon

  1. Who runs the site?
  2. Who pays for it? (the url can provide a hint but is not all that determines it's value)
  3. What is the purpose of the site? Is it to educate and inform? Is it selling something? Can you find other sources to back it up?
  4. Is the original source of information clearly stated? The site might be using it's own research and documents or, often a site will pull information from other sources. Is that clearly identified?
  5. Are there links to to citations and data referenced.
  6. Are the site contributors and reviewers included, clearly showing their expertise?
  7. How current is the site's information? Does it include the date?
  8. Do they include policies about how content is selected?

 

Resources

There are several initiatives and resources available to assist you. It is not easy to sift through all of the information we receive every day.

 

Contains similar tips on how to evaluate information on diseases and medical conditions. MedlinePlus also offers health information that has been carefully reviewed.

Infodemic Tutorial

One label given to the extensive amount of information, in particular when an infectious disease is spreading widely (ebola, zika, COVID-19) is called an Infodemic.

  • Infodemic: overabundance of information – some accurate and some not – that occurs during an epidemic. It can lead to confusion and ultimately mistrust in governments and public health response.
  • Infodemic management: applying evidence-based interventions that bring understandable, localized evidence-based information to citizens and drive positive health-seeking behaviour.