Addressing the Infodemic from a Health Information Equity Lens
 
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1
Global Health Program, Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, United States
 
2
Department of Health Services Research Care and Public Health, Research Institute Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
 
3
Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
 
4
Institute for Collective Health, European Public Health Association, Slovak Republic
 
5
European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Network, Greece
 
 
Publication date: 2023-04-27
 
 
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A649
 
ABSTRACT
Outline of overall workshop: The focus of this workshop is to increase capacity and knowledge of delegates by providing them with the evidence, resources, tools, and support to combat health Infodemics through the lens of health information equity. The workshop is a collaboration between the WFPHA Global Health Equity and Digital Technology, the Health Technology Assessment Section of the European Public Health Association, and the World Health Organization. We will start with a short Introduction into key concepts, i.e., the infodemic, misinformation, disinformation, evidence generation and health knowledge dissemination, digital health literacy, health information equity, and then transition to a discussion of specific case studies illustrating how misinformation impacts underrepresented global communities and populations in low-and middle-income countries. After the Introduction, participants will be guided through key strategies on how to improve health information accessibility, identify specific misinformation-induced health inequalities that may target certain groups, and explore different approaches to retrieve and appraise evidence. These strategies will be used to formulate and develop effective and timely messaging and communication approaches to debunk or correct misinformation, as it occurs, in online and physical spaces alike. Delegates will be specifically provided with information on different resources, training, and community-outreach developed by the WHO, and will be given the opportunity to ideate on how to tailor these tools to interventions in their own communities. The workshop will close with a collaborative exercise among all participants to crowd-source ideas around definitions, shared objectives, priorities, unique measurements, and activities needed to specifically address the Infodemic from a health information equity lens. Using this approach, we hope to generate needed dialogue among the global health community about the need to infuse health equity into conversations about misinformation, improve access to evidence and tools to strengthen shared goals of improving information equity and management of infodemics, and contribute ideas that can improve adherence to public health measures and confidence and trust in science. Specific Aims/Objectives: 1. Describe how addressing health information equity is critical to combatting health misinformation, 2. Identify and improve access to evidence, resources, tools, and strategies to ensure community resilience against the infodemic while also strengthening trust in science, 3. Generate shared objectives, priorities, and activities needed to specifically address the infodemic from a health information equity approach. Key questions workshop will address: The key questions that will be addressed in this workshop include: (1) how do challenges associated with the Infodemic originate from fundamental issues related to health information equity?; (2) what are some key strategies needed to concurrently address health information equity and to combat health misinformation and what is the role emerging and exponential technologies can play in these?; and (3) what do WFPHA delegates think are the key priorities in advancing this area of study and engagement to enhance health information equity and community reliance against Infodemics?
ISSN:2654-1459
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