Focus on using trusted and accurate sources.
People should use trustworthy sources of information to make the
best possible decisions about health, Health Secretary has said.
In response to the growing volume of false information, and a
recommendation from the pandemic advisory group, the Standing
Committee on Pandemic Preparedness, the Scottish Government has
launched a Scottish Health Information Integrity Strategy.
Mr Gray said it would help the NHS counter false and misleading
health information by giving healthcare professionals the tools
to enable people to make the best possible choices about their
own health.
He said: “There is lot of health information at our fingertips,
but often it is not in line with the science and evidence
produced by international experts. Some of it is misleading,
inaccurate, and sometimes just plain false. This strategy will
help the Scottish Government and our health partners respond to
the growing threat from such poor-quality information.
“For all of us, understanding our health and options is vital, as
the wrong information can lead us to make the wrong choices that
can harm us or our loved ones. The Scottish Health Information
Integrity Strategy will guide our response to these challenges
and help retain public trust in the NHS.
“For any health questions, in the first instance, people should
go to Scotland's national health information service NHS Inform,
which provides evidence-based and accurate health information.”
University of Edinburgh Chair in Public Health, and Scottish
Government Chief Social Policy Adviser Professor Linda Bauld
said:
“People are seeking information about their health in new ways,
and often from platforms which are not accurate.
“This strategy marks the beginning of the Scottish healthcare
system's response. It describes potential first steps to help NHS
Scotland and others build and maintain trust and find the best
ways of providing people with information.”
The strategy makes a number of recommendations on developing
leadership and co-ordination, and rapidly responding and building
resilience to false health information.
These include:
- providing dedicated resources
- participating in UK and international networks
- supporting staff to have evidence-based conversations with
patients
- supporting embedding media, digital and health literacy into
the Curriculum for Excellence
- engaging with community partners and third-sector
organisations on public health messaging.
Background
Scottish Health
Information Strategy
The strategy focuses on leadership and co-ordination, building
Scotland's resilience to false information and rapid response.
The detailed actions have been jointly agreed by Scottish
Government, Public Health Scotland and Education Scotland in
consultation with the NHS and other stakeholders.
It does not make recommendations for regulation of the online
environment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines misinformation as the
‘spread of false information without the intent to mislead' and
disinformation as information ‘designed or spread with full
knowledge of it being false…as part of an intention to deceive
and cause harm'.
Standing Committee on
Pandemic Preparedness - gov.scot
Scottish Government
Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness (SCoPP) final
report
NHS Inform - Scottish health
information you can trust
About NHS
Inform
