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It's The Age of (Mis)Information: Here's Why you should be familiar with Critical Appraisal, Evidence-Based Practice and Credibility.
The Danger of Misinformation
“It worked for me” “It changed my life" “I swear by it”
Anecdotes are all around us, and we encounter them every day. We have all grown up hearing old wives' tales advising treatments for common ailments. But now, misinformation is spreadable like wildfire and accessible at the click of one button. There can at times be value in anecdotal stories and, when enough anecdotes are shared this can impact if a scientific study is done to measure effectiveness of a claim. But, anecdotes do not equate evidence. Personal experience or a series of personal experiences can be very misleading. It means that something has worked for ONE individual, but when studied the effects were not confirmed, or reproducible when repeated on larger populations. Anecdotal evidence and pseudoscience also ignores the dangerous effects of the claim or intervention. For example, anecdotes such as vaginal steaming or yoni egg, which are NOT supported by scientific evidence are dangerous, culturally ignorant and costly.
Statistical methodology, or scientific evidence, when done well, samples large and representative populations, implementing a treatment or intervention the same way many times and taking precise measurements in order to assess the outcomes. They often control for factors that could manipulate the results and identify connections that are casual.
There are 6 levels of which we appraise evidence, the top being the highest quality information that is available. This is called the 6S pyramid. The lowest level of evidence on this pyramid is single studies, which is why it is so important to critically appraise single studies before thinking of applying them to a specific context.
https://www.nccmt.ca/tools/6s-search-pyramid
'Critical Appraisal' & 'Evidence-Based Practice'
Clinicians are taught to critically appraise the best available evidence in order to guide their recommendations on what is the best approach to take for specific health concerns. This is known as evidence based practice. Evidence-based practice is the integration of individual clinical expertise with the best available clinical evidence from research and patient’s values and expectations into the decision making process for your health care. It is a fundamental skill to be able to identify and appraise the best available evidence.
Critical appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically assessing the outcome of scientific research to judge its trustworthiness, value and relevance in a particular context. It takes into consideration if the results of the research are valid, accurate or generalizable to the patient population.
A clinician's ability to critically appraise information is essential in order to combat information overload and identify relevant information to your specific care.
The skill of critical appraisal can be relatively advanced, it takes a keen and understanding eye to spot why a study might be exaggerating results or where bias has tilted the scales in favour of a certain outcome. Not to mention that just because something has been published doesn't mean it's true. Research is costly and time consuming, most researchers don't want their hard work to go to waste, whether this is in the conscious or subconscious of their minds. Critical appraisal is a skill that goes far beyond reading an abstract of a paper.
It is important that all individuals outside of the realm of healthcare understand how to judge the trustworthiness of the information that is being presented to them about their health and well-being.
It is really in your best interest to be skeptical of misinformation, fear mongering propaganda and the claims made by those who are profiting off of the vulnerability of others.
This is important because there are studies, news articles, media coverage and influencers who often make unjustified scientific/medical claims. You need to be empowered and skeptical in order to sift through the pseudoscience or damaging claims that are often made and advocate for what is best for you.
How You Can Assess Information To Decide If It Is Credible
When doing your own health research, a great place to start would be professional organizations such as The Society of Obstetrics and Gynecologists of Canada, The Canadian Public Health Association, Centre for Disease Control, Canadian Pediatric Society, The Lung Association, and The Heart & Stroke Foundation, to name a few. As a few words of advice, if a celebrity is giving the advice, it's best to take a pass. Also, if the only source someone has to back them up is testimonials, you have no way to know how truthful the information really is.
There are various different tools that you can use to help determine if a resource is credible or reliable.
I am going to focus on The CRAAP Test, which is a set if criteria that can applied to websites, articles, and other information sources to help you determine if the information is reliable.
Currency: Timeliness of the information? Is it current? Is there newer information available?
Relevance: Does the information relate to your needs? Have you looked at other comparable information?
Authority: Who is the source of the information? What are their credentials? Is the author qualified in making the claims?
Accuracy: Where does this information come from? Is there credible high quality research to support it? Can you verify this information with another source from a similar field? Does the language or tone seem unbiased or free from emotion?
Purpose: Why does this information exist, Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade? Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda? How might the author of the information be benefitting? Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?
A Note on Social Media
Social Media platforms like Facebook and Instagram use algorithms that promote sensationalism, dividedness and popularity over accuracy. This is fine when it comes to general entertainment. What is concerning is when it comes to medicine and health, which require validated resources and professional expertise.
You can't advocate for yourself and your health with misinformation. My advice to you is to remain skeptical and be empowered with the right information when it comes to your health.
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