I received the announcement this morning from WHO. The webinar is today (7 April) but I am sending this for the benefit of those HIFA members who are receiving messages as soon as they are approved (rather than daily compilations). We'll share the link and document as soon as they are available. I am unable to attend but if you are able to participate please feel free to invite participants to join HIFA for further disussion and share your observations with us afterwards.
WHO EPI-WIN : Launch of Social listening in infodemic management for public health emergencies: Guidance on ethical considerations
Register here: https://who.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V0osr0pERwKpGOLQOVzGEQ
More Information
The "Social listening in infodemic management for public health emergencies: guidance on ethical considerations" being launched provides ethical guidance for governments, ministries, departments, agencies, organizations and individuals engaging in social listening for infodemic management practices in preparation for, during and after public health emergencies. As infodemic management involves addressing the spread of overwhelming health information during public health emergencies, it focuses on reducing misinformation and building trust in health authorities and ensuring consistent public health messaging to prevent confusion and harmful behaviours.
Although they are useful activities, social listening and infodemic management come with risks, including privacy breaches, misuse of data, potential harm to vulnerable populations, and erosion of trust in health institutions. To mitigate these risks, this document offers an ethical framework to govern and ensure responsible and ethical social listening in infodemic management practices. The document covers the technical definitions of terms, ethical challenges in infodemic management, alignment with human rights, substantive and procedural ethical principles. The document presents proposed actions for translating ethical principles for infodemic management into real-world practice.
Speakers
Moderator: Kai von Harbou, WHO
Opening remarks (TBC): Chikwe Ihekweazu, Assistant Director-General, WHO Health Emergencies Programme
Social listening and infodemic management in the context of community protection: Nedret Emiroglu, WHO
Motivation of the project and objectives: Andreas Reis / Kai von Harbou, WHO
Overall structure of the document, architecture, process, evidence: Nikola Biller Andorno, University of Zurich
Experience from representative of expert group: David Scales, Weill Cornell Medical College
Elodie Ho, Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA)
Q&A session: Sandra Machiri / Becky White, WHO
Closing remarks: John Reeder, Director, TDR, WHO
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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 AT hifa.org