How Can We Bridge Gaps in Public Health Knowledge?

In this age of media saturation and polarization, wrong information can flourish with a detrimental impact on public health. To learn why people believe unverified health information, the ensuing consequences, and how to combat this trend, hg体育官网 Associate Director TaWanna Berry, MA, recently moderated a panel discussion of experts—社区合作:识别和回应错误信息的有力工具在2023年全国健康传播、营销与媒体会议(NCHCMM).

The panel included Matthew Kreuter, PhD, MPH, Professor and Associate Dean for Public Health, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis; Jessica Otero Machuca, MPH, 注册健康教育专家和副临床研究协调员, Mayo Clinic; and Lisa Fazio, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University.

In the following discussion, Berry分享了小组关于2019冠状病毒病大流行期间沟通挑战和解决方案的对话，以及可用于应对现在和未来不正确健康信息传播的创新工具.

Q. 传播不正确的健康信息和传播虚假信息有区别吗?

A. Definitely. 当有人认为信息是真实的时候，错误的健康信息往往会被传播, but it is in fact incorrect. 然后，错误的信息在宇宙中漂浮，许多人开始接受它作为事实. 虚假信息是明确地分享不正确的信息来动摇人们的信念.

Q. 小组成员认为传播不正确健康信息的直接和长期后果是什么?

A. 他们重申了这样一个事实，即不正确信息的传播可能导致严重疾病和数百万人死亡, which we saw during the pandemic. Over the long term, 这种不正确的信息侵蚀了人们对公共卫生机构和科学研究的信任，并可能导致健康差距.

Q. 他们对为什么最近我们似乎更容易受到不正确的健康信息的影响有什么看法?

A. 小组成员一致认为，公众每天都在消费大量的内容，却没有对其进行批判性的处理. Also, many people are forming opinions based on biases, which hinders their ability to recognize fact from fiction.

Q. Who are most susceptible to believing incorrect health information?

A. 当我们不进行批判性思考时，我们所有人都容易相信和/或传播不正确的信息. Surprisingly, one of our panelists proved this at our session. 她向观众提出了一个虚构的问题:“亚伯拉罕带了多少种动物到方舟上??“听众认为问题是真的——这是亚伯拉罕做的——然后回答。.”

Q. 在大流行期间，小组成员如何打击不正确信息在其社区的传播?

A. Two of the panelists represented research teams that are part of the 美国国立卫生研究院(NIH)社区参与联盟(CEAL)抗击COVID-19倡议. These research teams, led by academic institutions, 与社区组织建立伙伴关系，提供有关COVID-19检测和疫苗的可信和科学信息. 他们采用快速研究方法，找到向受疫情影响最严重的社区提供信息的有效途径. Many found that delivering information via trusted messengers—people, organizations, 社区成员信任的项目致力于解决知识差距，纠正错误的信息和信念.

Q. 有哪些创新的方法可以防止不正确信息的传播?

A. During the pandemic, Washington University rolled out a program called iHeard St. Louis to monitor health information that was spreading through the city. 它包括每周向200多名付费参与者发送一项调查，以收集公众关于他们最关心的公共卫生问题的信息，以及他们听到的关于关键卫生主题的信息. Once responses are received, 这些信息用于创建消息传递，为公众提供有关这些关键主题的事实性和易于理解的信息. The team then develops digital assets, which are shared weekly with partners and trusted messenger organizations, who in turn share the information on their own channels.

Q. Could this program be modeled nationwide?

A. We think it can. 韦斯特正在与美国国立卫生研究院和CEAL合作，对iHeard项目中使用的流程是否可以扩展到其他州进行试点测试.

Q. 您认为健康传播者在未来会面临哪些信息障碍?

A. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents one potential hurdle. It could exacerbate the spread of misinformation, 但它也可能有助于向公众传播基于科学的信息. 我们需要确定如何最好地利用它来帮助带来积极的变化.