Addressing health misinformation with health literacy strategy

On July 29, 2020, the Roundtable on Health Literacy convened a public workshop to explore the challenges resulting from the proliferation of health and medical misinformation and disinformation, particularly as they relate to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The virtual workshop explored the role of fact-checking organizations (FCOs) and the technology industry in addressing misinformation and disinformation, the social psychology behind their spread, and health literacy strategies to support this ongoing multidisciplinary work. This proceeding was prepared by the rapporteur as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. Statements, recommendations, and opinions expressed are those of individual workshop participants and are not necessarily endorsed or verified by either the Roundtable on Health Literacy or the National Academies, and they should not be construed as reflecting any group consensus. Lawrence Smith, chair of the Roundtable on Health Literacy; executive vice president and physician in chief at Northwell Health; and dean of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, welcomed attendees to the virtual workshop. The workshop, he explained, would examine the rise of health misinformation and would use COVID-19 as a case study to explore health literacy strategies that may be used to mitigate such misinformation. Smith introduced the two moderators for the panel: Ruth Parker, professor of medicine, pediatrics, and public health at Emory University, and Laurie Myers, global health literacy director for Merck. (author introduction)