World EBHC Day campaign to fight fake news

On World Evidence-Based Healthcare (EBHC) Day, seven leaders in evidence-based healthcare spotlight the global impact of evidence on healthcare research, policy, practice and health outcomes.

Today the University of Adelaide’s JBI, an international research organisation in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Cochrane, Campbell Collaboration, GIN, the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, the Centre for Evidence-based Health Care and NICE launch the World EBHC Day 2021 campaign, ‘the role of evidence in an infodemic’. 

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of developing rapid evidence-informed responses and ensuring the best available evidence is accessible, transparent and understood,''Bianca Pilla, World EBHC Day Committee Chair

The 2021 campaign supports the infodemic management efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) by exploring the role of evidence in an infodemic, in particular promoting access to trustworthy, evidence-informed health information.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of developing rapid evidence-informed responses and ensuring the best available evidence is accessible, transparent and understood. The rapid response of the global evidence community has been important and necessary. However, it has been accompanied by the exponential production of misinformation which has contributed to the creation of a global infodemic," said Bianca Pilla, World EBHC Day Committee Chair.

The overabundance of information and the distribution of misinformation is amplified through social media and spreads like a virus, making it hard for people to find trustworthy, evidence-based guidance when they need it.

"Never before has there been a more urgent need for a coordinated, evidence-based approach to mitigating the harm caused by an infodemic and the spread of health misinformation. COVID-19 misinformation is harming communities and individuals," said Dr Sylvie Briand, Director of the WHO Department of Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness.

The World EBHC Day campaign in 2021 responds to the WHO’s call for action.  Guided by infodemiologist Gunther Eysenbach’s work on infodemic management and the WHO’s infodemic management framework, JBI, together with the organising partners of World EBHC Day, provide a platform for the global evidence community to share their experiences, stories and collective wisdom. 

The WHO has produced a public health research agenda which recognises that infodemic management is an emerging and evolving field of research and practice, and that transdisciplinary synthesis is required to develop the field.

"‘Following the tsunami of misinformation, we see that communities are as vulnerable to the infodemic as they are to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Prof Zoe  Jordan, Executive Director of JBI.

"People are responding to the over-abundance of information differently, depending on their unique political, cultural and social experiences. As a global evidence community, we have a responsibility to listen to the diverse needs and stories of end users in order to help them access, appraise and apply evidence. World EBHC Day 2021 is an opportunity to contribute to future guidance in infodemic management, and truly promote access to trustworthy information."

World EBHC Day calls on individuals and organisations in healthcare around the world to take action as we lead up to World EBHC Day on 20 October. Visit worldebhcday.org and contribute to a global response for infodemic management.

About World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day 2021
World Evidence-Based Healthcare (EBHC) Day is held on 20 October each year. It is a global initiative that raises awareness of the need for better evidence to inform healthcare policy, practice and decision making in order to improve health outcomes globally. It is an opportunity to participate in debate about global trends and challenges, but also to celebrate the impact of individuals and organisations worldwide, recognising the work of dedicated researchers, policymakers and health professionals in improving health outcomes.

For more information, please visit: https://worldebhcday.org