Chris Zielinski asks: "I wonder what one does after detecting poor quality information on a website. What is the best approach to take to get people to remove errors and update wrong facts?"
This would be a really interesting topic to explore. What one does is bound to depend on context, but a simple guide would be useful. (see below)
I remember back in 2014 HIFA discovered a major inaccuracy on the Nigeria Ministry of Health website: their Ebola fact sheet included the following inaccurate statements:
"Ebola VD is usually spread within a health care setting."
"Ebola VD could be spread through the following:... Inhalation of contaminated air in hospital environment"
"Who is at risk?... People that go to hospitals with poor hygiene and sanitation practices"
All this at a time when popular fear of health facilities was one of the major drivers of the epidemic and associated mortality.
With help from HIFA member Joseph Ana we advised the Minister of Health of these inaccuracies and the false information was removed.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic WHO launched EPI-WIN, which 'aims to make scientific information accessible, understandable and meaningful to all communities during emergencies so that their decisions, policies and actions are evidence-informed'. Their work includes 'engaging with communities to share accurate information and build resilience to misinformation'.
More specifically, WHO has a dedicated page. It relates to COVID-19 but the guidance is applicable to any health misinformation:
WHO: How to report misinformation online
https://www.who.int/campaigns/connecting-the-world-to-combat-coronavirus...
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
