D4.01 - World Cafe: Countering Misinformation in Public Health Education: A World Café on Pedagogy, Praxis, Technology, and Policy

Brief Abstract Summary: Examine the socio-ecological factors driving the spread of problematic, misleading, and health false information, and discuss critical themes, including:
1) How can we build and restore public trust in public health, science, and health education within a polarized society?
2) What role can technology, including generative AI and digital platforms, play in both combating and potentially exacerbating misinformation?
3) How can policy interventions— at local, federal and platform levels— support ethical information practices and accountability?
4) What pedagogical approaches can equip individuals and communities to critically evaluate health information without exacerbating mistrust?

Detailed abstract description: In an era of unprecedented information flow and societal polarization, public health educators and practitioners face the critical challenge of combating problematic, false, and misleading information while striving to build and maintain community trust. As our public health and health systems face unprecedented challenges and fast-changing technology, public confidence wavers. Understanding and addressing the confusing health information ecosystem is essential to effective health education and promotion.
This interactive World Café session will delve into the current information-seeking landscape, drawing on expertise from research from the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public. Presenters and participants will examine the socio-ecological factors driving the spread of problematic, misleading, and false information, and discuss other critical themes in smaller group discussions, including:
1) How can we build and restore public trust in public health, science, and health education within a polarized society?
2) What role can technology, including generative AI and digital platforms, play in both combating and potentially exacerbating misinformation?
3) How can policy interventions— at local, federal and platform levels— support ethical information practices and accountability?
4) What pedagogical approaches can equip individuals and communities to critically evaluate health information without exacerbating mistrust?

Note: Aligning with the conference theme, this World Cafe explores problematic information and anti-science narratives as a global challenge with a need for local action. Solutions call for a mix of multi-level strategies (at the individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy levels) that help to repair the information ecosystem and societal trust in science and public health.

Learning Objectives:
1) Analyze the current landscape of health misinformation and the socio-ecological factors that influence the spread of problematic, misleading, and false information in public health contexts
2) Explore evidence-informed pedagogical approaches, trust-building practices, policy interventions, and technological innovations for countering misinformation, with attention to power, ethics, and accountability
3) Propose action steps for public health organizations that integrate pedagogy, praxis, policy, and technology.