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We’re living in an era of unprecedented access to information. Yet, this brings unprecedented challenges, particularly when it comes to health. The increase of false health information has eroded public trust, which is the bedrock of good relations and practices in healthcare. Health information needs to be authentic and trustworthy, with the source of the information clear. So how can we, as healthcare communicators, fight back against misinformation?

The Impact of Health Misinformation

Poorer Personal Health Outcomes: Misinformation can lead to delayed or avoided medical care. It can also lead to a misunderstanding of risk factors, encouraging harmful behaviours.

Risks to Public Health: Misinformation isn’t just a personal matter; it poses significant risks to wider communities. For instance, vaccine misinformation has fuelled the resurgence of preventable diseases like whooping cough and measles.

Financial Strain on Healthcare Systems: The ripple effect extends to healthcare systems, with misinformation driving up costs. Preventable conditions, complications from delayed treatments and managing public health crises all contribute to ballooning expenses.

Tackling Health Misinformation

Empowerment through Education: Improving health literacy is a cornerstone of tackling misinformation. By educating patients and the general public to discern credible health information, we can empower them to make informed decisions about their health.

Transparency is Key: Pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers must prioritise transparency. This means clearly communicating treatment benefits and risks, addressing concerns openly, and providing evidence-based information to rebuild trust.

Harnessing Technology: While technology can spread misinformation, it also holds the key combatting it. Digital tools can help to disseminate accurate information, and tech companies, including social media, can help to flag or remove false content.

Community Engagement: Trust-building within communities is vital. Engaging with leaders, influencers and organisations helps to share accurate information tailored to specific communities, fostering understanding and confidence. Tailoring messages to specific communities ensures they resonate and are more likely to be accepted.

Becoming a Trusted Information Creator

As proud health information creators and communicators, it’s our responsibility to ensure the information we produce is accurate, accessible, and evidence based. At Aurora, our rigorous approach to creating health information has earned recognition from the Patient Information Forum (PIF) through the PIF TICK – the UK’s only assessed quality mark for print and online health and care information.

The PIF launched the PIF TICK in May 2020. In July 2021, PIF launched the website www.piftick.org.uk to raise awareness of PIF TICK accredited members and help people find trusted health information. The site also includes guides on topics including spotting false health information and understanding evidence.

Aurora is one of the first healthcare communications agencies to receive accreditation with the PIF TICK, joining over 140 organizations including NHS trusts, patient advocacy groups, pharmaceutical companies, and individual health content creators. Our adherence to the 10 key criteria ensures that any health information we create on behalf of our clients can bear the PIF TICK, providing assurance to patients and the public that it meets the highest standards.

By fostering trust, transparency, and promoting health literacy, we empower individuals to make informed health decisions, leading to better outcomes for all.

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Paul Venturino, executive director Strategika -a GHMC partner-

Sebastián Goldsack, PhD, professor at the Faculty of Communications of Universidad de los Andes, Chile.

Although the concept of responsible investment has been used for approximately 60 years, only recently have standards been established. The climate crisis has accelerated the need for implementing new strategies to address rapid global and technological changes. We refer to these new standards as ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) principles.

There were two key milestones in the ESG evolution. The first was the creation of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 1999, a stock index focused on sustainable investments which allowed for broader financing options. The second, much more recent, was the UN Global Compact of the Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI, 2023).

One of the key elements of responsible investment is active incorporation of ESG criteria. This implies everyone in the chain (organization, shareholders, financiers, management) must adhere to rules and be proactive agents of mobilization.

ESG criteria is based on three pillars:

  • Environment: Refers to the environmental impact of an organization and the activities to reduce it, especially in areas such as emissions, waste or use of natural resources.
  • Social: Refers to the management of people in the workplace and the community in various aspects such as human rights, gender, inclusion.
  • Governance: The way in which corporations or institutions are organized. The key is respect for rules and transparency.

As with any regulatory change, responsible investment has also been strongly pressured by changes in production conditions, stricter regulations and strong activism. ESG criteria seeks to respond to scenarios with measures that allow us to face challenges while maintaining profitability (Shakil, 2021).

With this in mind, we interviewed key executives from Chilean and multinational corporations operating in Chile to learn the latest trends and challenges in responsible investment and ESG.

Key trends:

  1. Investors—especially investors in international companies—are driving the movement for responsible investment by pressuring these organizations to incorporate ESG criteria.
  2. ESG criteria are beginning to include the full value chain, transferring good practices to all steps of a company’s operation.
  3. Although incipient in Chile, there is pressure to achieve higher diversity on boards (gender, class, race/ethnicity, professional backgrounds).
  4. There is a movement toward clear and effective tools to guide compliance and measure accountability. Regulations can help ensure higher ethical standards across industries.
  5. A diverse, inclusive workforce with a safe workplace environment is positive for workers and business alike.
  6. Companies are now more motivated to seek new ways of doing business and transforming their forms of production, in order to maintain profitability.
  7. Climate change mitigation is seen as a strategic pillar of a company’s ways of doing business.
  8. The traditional way companies engage with interest groups (advocacy groups, etc.) is evolving to include new ways of working.

In addition to these positive trends, come challenges. The biggest challenges relate to the speed of adoption of these practices, and whether they can generate profitability.

Challenges to be addressed in the short term

  1. A move from tactical actions and rankings to a genuine modification of the ways of doing business and the governance structure at a high level.
  2. Convince executive boards of the importance of ESG trends and responsible investment criteria.
  3. Strengthen the ethics of executives.
  4. Raise standards in industries and ensure all companies adopt ESG.
  5. Improve the legislation applied and the bureaucracy of the authorities.

EXECUTIVES INTERVIEWED FOR THIS INVESTIGATION

  • Kelly, Conrod, Managing Director MSD Chile
  • Margozzini, José, Gerente general TEG Chile
  • Orrego, Carolina, gerente de asuntos corporativos y cumplimiento Empresas Melón
  • Pinto, Patricio, gerente de asuntos corporativos Minera Los Pelambres
  • Vergara, Ana Luisa, subgerenta de sostenibilidad corporativa Colbún
  • Vilches, Javier, gerente general Grupo Eulen Chile
  • Wood, Alejandra, directora Codelco

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