Health Misinformation

Catalog description

We live in an amazing era in which it’s easier than ever to gather information. But what is accurate, what is misleading, and how can we tell the difference when it comes to health and illness? Health-related myths, assumptions, and flat-out lies not only trick people out of money but lead them to make bad healthcare decisions, which can lead to negative outcomes such as prolonged sickness and even premature death. This course will help students become a better healthcare consumers by exploring how health topics are properly, and improperly, communicated, and asking them to think critically about what we know, what we assume, and what we completely fabricate regarding health and illness. Throughout the semester, students will learn to identify misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation in several specific contexts, such as a) public health, including government regulations, oversight, and policies; b) corporate health communication, including the rise of the “Wellness” industry; c) misrepresentation of research results and health-related statistics; and e) interpersonal miscommunication about health. Case studies and true examples are used often to illustrate the idea that misinformation takes many forms. Along the way, students will learn new things about health, nutrition, healing, illness, and science, and will boost their health communication savviness by developing the critical thinking skills that will protect them from health-related myths, false assumptions, and flat-out lies. By the end of this course, students will be able to identify biased and inaccurate health-related information and critically analyze what makes it misleading; understand why health misinformation is out there and how it spreads; express ideas and academic knowledge in a coherent, complete way; have respectful, intelligent conversations about misunderstood health-related topics;…