In the recent years, the circulation of health misinformation and disinformation has exploded with the digitalized information ecosystem, affecting the ability of health systems to promote public health, especially during health emergencies. Public health workers need knowledge and skills to manage harm from health misinformation. This course will help them to better understand the infodemic mechanisms that underlie the emergence and spread of misinformation, and how to intervene to better prevent and respond to it.
This course is also available in these following languages:
Overview: Public health authorities have a duty to share health information with the population so that people can adopt adequate behaviours to protect their health and the health of others. However, in our modern information ecosystem this objective can be challenged by the overflow of information of varying quality that surges across digital and physical environments during acute public health event. Understanding how this infodemic, including mis- and disinformation, links to people's intent and behaviour in different communities online and offline, and how to manage it, has become critical for effective preparedness and prevention of health threats.
This course introduces the learners to the concept of health misinformation in an infodemic management context, what harms it can cause, how it spreads, and how to prevent and manage it. After completing this course, interested participants can enrol in further courses of the infodemic management OpenWHO course series as they become available.
Duration: Approximately 3 hours
Certificates: A certificate of achievement will be available to participants who score at least 80% of the total points available in the final assessment. Participants who receive a certificate of achievement can also download an Open Badge for this course. Click here to learn how.
Should you be interested in learning more about other aspects of infodemic management, please refer to the remaining modules of this course series:
- Infodemic Management 101
- Infodemic Management: Developing an infodemic insights report
Infodemic Management: Social marketing and message testing methods
Infodemic Management: Defining a taxonomy for social listening
Infodemic Management: Using human-centered design good practices
Infodemic Management: Working effectively as an infodemic manager in the field