The spread and impact of medical disinformation constitute an urgent societal problem with sometimes major consequences for people’s physical or mental health. It is an issue closely linked to trust.
Although the trust of a large part of the population in medical science and practice remains high, distrust has grown among more people during and after the COVID pandemic. If they do not trust medical experts and institutions and their information needs are not adequately met, people are susceptible to unscientifically substantiated advice and products, which are pushed via social media platforms, among others.
At the initiative of The European Trust Alliance, experts from research and medical professionals exchanged insights and experiences on this topic.
During an inspiring roundtable discussion at the UMC Utrecht, they discussed the background, dynamics, and impact of the spread of medical disinformation. The discussion subsequently focused on possibilities for concrete action: which courses of action and interventions are promising and can be taken up in the short term? And how can science, industry, and medical practice play a role in this and collaborate more effectively?
Stefan Gaillard presented the report MEDICAL MISINFORMATION ROOTED: Listening to concerns and cultivating well-founded trust, in which a wide range of possible courses of action has been explored. Tommy de Bruijn provided an explanation of the recent campaigns (in collaboration with KNMG) and toolkits from Isdatechtzo.nl and Netwerk Mediawijsheid.
Some interesting courses of action that were discussed included:
● Short lines of communication between journalists and medical experts to downplay misinformation before it appears in the media.
● Developing interfaces for interaction between research and the public (increasing trust through involvement in research / citizen science)
● Promoting a better understanding of the medical ‘ecosystem’ (which expert and which institution does and knows what)
● Better disseminating evidence-based knowledge from science regarding the effectiveness of specific interventions to medical practice and centers of expertise.
The next step within this initiative is to develop concrete action plans for some of the most promising interventions and to engage all parties that can make a difference regarding the intervention in question. In doing so, we will naturally also look at knowledge and experiences in other European countries.