Comparing Health-Related News Articles to Original Research Studies: A Lesson for Research Methods

Abstract

Health education specialists often communicate health information to consumers, making the ability to decipher valid information from that which is unreliable an important skill. To address this issue, public health degree programs can incorporate activities focused on the accuracy of health information into relevant courses and curricula. One way to address this is through a web-based activity described in this article. This learning activity allows students to become familiar with the problem of misinformation in popular press and to practice the skills associated with identifying accurate health-related content on the Internet. The goal of this learning activity is three-fold: students will be able to (a) critically evaluate a news article concerning a health-related topic and, (b) identify reports of research in the popular press that may be misleading and inaccurate, and (c) identify reports of research in the popular press that are not well-written according to journalistic standards (i.e., writers should be objective purveyors of the news and cover all perspectives). Incorporating such learning activities into relevant courses and curricula may help students become familiar with the challenge of misinformation in the popular press. Furthermore, these activities allow them to practice the skills associated with identifying accurate health-related content on the Internet.