Dear HIFA colleagues,
From 21 August to 15 October, over 2400 people completed our online survey in official relations with the World Health Organization. The consultation has now moved to the HIFA forums (here), where we shall continue to explore the questions interactively. The findings of the survey and discussion will be synthesised in a report to WHO by January 2024.
To guide our discussion, please see the contents of the survey here: https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/publications_pdf/HIFA-Survey.pdf
We invite contributions on any of the questions of the survey. Please send your contribution by email to: hifa@hifaforums.org
How important is access to reliable healthcare information?
Q4: Access to reliable healthcare information is (or should be) a human right
Q5: Improving the availability and use of reliable healthcare information would lead to substantial improvements in quality of care and health outcomes
Q6: Universal health coverage cannot be achieved without universal access to reliable healthcare information
Q7: More support is needed for health literacy (helping people find, understand and use healthcare information)
What should be done to improve access to reliable healthcare information?
The World Medical Association Policy Statement on Healthcare Information For All is the highest-level consensus statement to date, representing 10 million doctors worldwide.
Q8: Which of the seven World Medical Association recommendations (listed below) do you think are most important to achieve universal access to reliable healthcare information? Please select TWO (2) options
Support initiatives to improve access to reliable healthcare information
Promote standards of good practice and ethics
Support research to identify enabling drivers and barriers
Ensure that health workers have access to reliable healthcare information
Combat myths and misinformation
Urge governments to recognize their moral obligation
Urge governments to provide political and financial support to WHO
We now invite you to consider each of the seven recommendations in turn:
Q9: There should be more support for initiatives that improve access to reliable healthcare information
Q10: There should be higher standards of practice and ethics among information providers
Q11: There should be more support for research on the availability and use of reliable healthcare information
Q12: More should be done to ensure that health workers have access to reliable healthcare information
Q13: More should be done to protect people from misinformation
Q14: Governments should recognise their obligation to improve the availability and use of reliable healthcare information
Q15: Governments should provide more support for WHO to 'extend to all peoples the benefits of medical, psychological and related knowledge' as described in the WHO Constitution (1948)
What should WHO and HIFA do to accelerate progress?
Q16: The World Health Organization is a leading publisher of reliable healthcare information and supports a number of important several healthcare information initiatives. What more can WHO do to accelerate progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information?
Make a public commitment to accelerate progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information
Support stakeholders to develop a strategy for universal access to reliable healthcare information
Increase investment in WHO publications
Promote access to reliable information in languages other than English
Other:
Q17: HIFA aims to bring stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. What more can HIFA do to accelerate progress?
Q18: Your response to this question will help prioritise action in 2024 and beyond. The draft HIFA-WHO collaboration plan has five action areas. Which areas are most important?
To promote WHO advocacy to achieve universal access to reliable healthcare information
To provide WHO with access to experience and expertise on information needs and how to meet them
To support WHO's role as a leading provider of reliable healthcare information
To support the dissemination and uptake WHO’s publications, information and public health messages
To support WHO's role in meeting information needs in languages other than English
Other:
Q19: HIFA seeks financial and technical partners to implement the HIFA-WHO collaboration plan in 2024 and beyond. Are you willing for HIFA to contact you to explore whether and how you can support our work?
Please select TWO (2) options
To promote WHO advocacy to achieve universal access to reliable healthcare information
To provide WHO with access to experience and expertise on information needs and how to meet them
To support WHO's role as a leading provider of reliable healthcare information
To support the dissemination and uptake WHO s publications, information and public health messages
To support WHO's role in meeting information needs in languages other than English
Other:
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
