Paper long abstract:

There is a wide chasm between the world of medicine and pharmacology and the world of information and communication, even in the digital age. While the ubiquity and popularity of digital everyday technologies such as the Internet, mobile devices, mobile apps, and social media have made access to medical information easier and quicker, the reliance on technology for easy access to medical information results in a number of issues. This has meant that people have access to a wider range of sources, including alternative facts, rumours, hoaxes and conspiracies which are at odds with medical or scientific truth and evidence. Medical infodemic and mis/disinformation have therefore become part of the broader problem of ‘fake news’ in a world increasingly digital by default. Such mis/disinformation pose a problem to public health, often impacting the health behaviours people adopt, the health risks they take, and whether or not they follow public health guidelines. To solve the problem created by a disconnection between science and communication and the emergent issue of health-related mis/disinformation, I propose the rethinking and more focused adaptation of health literacy within the broader media literacy paradigm. In addition is the prioritisation of science communication or science journalism as a crucial way of addressing what I consider a gap in health research, public health discourse, and health communication in the global age. This will see a synergy between scientists and medical practitioners and a new crop of journalists known as science journalists devoted to communicating a balanced, objective, and impactful scientific truth and evidence especially during crisis times such as the pandemic.