The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the essential role of communication in promoting public health.
Public health officials, medical practitioners, health journalists, and civil society groups have shown impressive dedication and innovation in getting health messages to different communities. At the same time, during the pandemic we have seen huge quantities of false and deceptive information, along with a polarization around public health measures that has left many communities distrustful of health officials and/or each other. The result is poorer health outcomes and fractured politics.
Policymakers around the world have struggled to identify communication strategies that can address these and other challenges in an online ecosystem dominated by social media platforms. They are also exploring regulatory approaches to address some of the obstacles and harms that this ecosystem amplifies.
The third roundtable of the Digital Policy Rounds took place on January 19th, 2022. The event convened the following speakers for a discussion on Health Communications:
- Jaigris Hodson, (Tier II) Canada Research Chair in Digital Communication for the Public Interest and Associate Professor at Royal Roads University
- Sabina Vohra-Miller, Co-founder of the Vohra-Miller Foundation, Founder of Unambiguous Science, co-Founder of the South Asian Health Network & Doctor of Public Health student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health
- Dr. Krishana Sankar, Award-winning researcher and trained scientist, Science Advisor and Community Partnerships Lead for ScienceUpFirst
- Harlan Pruden, Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab, Managing Editor of TwoSpiritJournal.com and advisory member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Gender and Health
CSDI’s monthly roundtable series Digital Policy Rounds was presented in partnership with the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, Centre for Law, Technology & Society, Leadership Lab and Digital Democracies Institute.
