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Pandemics, infodemics and health promotion
Author(s) -
White Becky,
Phuong Lynette,
Roach Jeremy,
Teggelove Nikki,
Wallace Hazel
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1002/hpja.644
Subject(s) - misinformation , health promotion , public relations , public health , population health , pandemic , infographic , promotion (chess) , social media , medicine , health economics , nursing , political science , covid-19 , politics , computer science , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , data mining
Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic and the accompanying infodemic are significant public health issues. The COVID‐19 infodemic has been prolific from early in the pandemic response, and has continued to escalate during vaccine rollout. COVID‐19 is the first pandemic in the social media era, expediting the need for effective measures to manage the high volume of information and misinformation. To address the infodemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) and others have commenced a comprehensive program of work, building capacity, raising awareness and developing new tools and methods. As part of the WHO capacity building effort, they have developed a comprehensive infodemic manager training program. The authors of this paper are Australian alumni from the first two training courses, all authors have health promotion backgrounds. Health Promotion Practitioners are uniquely positioned to build on existing skills, knowledge and reach to develop preventative strategies to help mitigate infodemics. This paper offers our combined perspectives on why the infodemic is a significant health promotion concern and the role we believe Health Promotion Practitioners can play in managing and mitigating the infodemic.