Health Misinformation and the Power of Narrative Messaging in the Public Sphere

Authors

  • Timothy Caulfield Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law; School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • Alessandro R Marcon Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • Blake Murdoch Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • Jasmine M Brown Institute of Health Economics; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • Sarah Tinker Perrault University Writing Program, University of California, Davis, United States of America
  • Jonathan Jarry Office for Science and Society, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • Jeremy Snyder Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
  • Samantha J Anthony The Hospital for Sick Children; Canadian National Transplant Research Program, Toronto, Canada
  • Stephanie Brooks Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • Zubin Master Biomedical Ethics Research Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, United States of America
  • Christen Rachul Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
  • Ubaka Ogbogu Faculty of Law; Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • Joshua Greenberg School of Journalism and Communication, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
  • Amy Zarzeczny Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina, Regina, Canada
  • Robyn Hyde-Lay Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7202/1060911ar

Keywords:

Health Communication, Science Communication, Social Media, Narrative, Public Health

Language(s):

English

Abstract

Numerous social, economic and academic pressures can have a negative impact on representations of biomedical research. We review several of the forces playing an increasingly pernicious role in how health and science information is interpreted, shared and used, drawing discussions towards the role of narrative. In turn, we explore how aspects of narrative are used in different social contexts and communication environments, and present creative responses that may help counter the negative trends. As traditional methods of communication have in many ways failed the public, changes in approach are required, including the creative use of narratives.

Open issue, (c) Emanuelle Dufour

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Published

2019-05-24

How to Cite

[1]
Caulfield T, Marcon AR, Murdoch B, Brown JM, Perrault ST, Jarry J, Snyder J, Anthony SJ, Brooks S, Master Z, Rachul C, Ogbogu U, Greenberg J, Zarzeczny A, Hyde-Lay R. Health Misinformation and the Power of Narrative Messaging in the Public Sphere. Can. J. Bioeth 2019;2:52-60. https://doi.org/10.7202/1060911ar.

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2019): Open Issue

Section

Critical commentaries

License

Copyright (c) 2019 Timothy Caulfield, Alessandro R Marcon, Blake Murdoch, Jasmine M Brown, Sarah Tinker Perrault, Jonathan Jarry, Jeremy Snyder, Samantha J Anthony, Stephanie Brooks, Zubin Master, Christen Rachul, Ubaka Ogbogu, Joshua Greenberg, Amy Zarzeczny, Robyn Hyde-Lay

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Canadian Journal of Bioethics applies the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License to all its publications. Authors therefore retain copyright of their publication, e.g., they can reuse their publication, link to it on their home page or institutional website, deposit a PDF in a public repository. However, the authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy their publication, so long as the original authors and source are cited.