Free Publication Provides Strategies to Combat the Spread of Health Misinformation
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently published a synopsis of a workshop dedicated to helping health professionals combat the spread of health misinformation, particularly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently published a synopsis of a workshop dedicated to helping health professionals combat the spread of health misinformation, particularly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The workshop was hosted by the Roundtable on Health Literacy, a group focused on educating and encouraging diverse stakeholders to support the development, implementation, and sharing of evidence-based health literacy practices and policies, to improve the health and well-being of all people.
Workshop presenters identified the role of fact-checking organizations and Big Tech in reducing misinformation and disinformation, discussed the psychological reasons behind their spread, and elucidated health literacy strategies to support this interprofessional effort. The report’s relevance is emphasized by the need for enough Americans to take a COVID-19 vaccination in order to achieve herd immunity in a climate of growing vaccine hesitancy. To download a pdf of “Addressing Health Misinformation with Health Literacy Strategies,” visit: nap.edu/read/26021.
From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. January 2021;19(1):11.