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ViewAttendees 5

Plenary Session

Technology and Communications

Plenary 4: Technology and Communications

PL04.07 - Plenary 4, Media, Information, Science and Health Literacy: Navigating Digital Complexity - Information Ecosystems and Health Education in 21st Century

Thursday, April 17, 2025
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM PST
Location: Main Stage (International Ballroom), 2nd Floor
Earn 1.0 Entry CECH
Subcompetencies: 5.1 Identify a current or emerging health issue requiring policy, systems, or environmental change. , 6.2.3 Identify factors that facilitate and/or hinder the intended outcome of the communication.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
  • Describe infodemiology and information disorder in relation to health education preparation and practice.  
  • Identify programmatic strategies to disrupt mis/disinformation. 
This talk invites health education and health promotion professionals to reflect on their evolving role in the age of digital complexity. As digital spaces increasingly shape how people seek, share, and understand health information, educators must expand their impact beyond individuals and communities. We’ll explore how your work also needs to reach upward to senior leaders and policymakers, across to peers in communication, tech, and healthcare, and downward to support and guide newer professionals entering the field. Drawing on SOPHE competencies, this presentation emphasizes relational communication, trust-building, participatory strategies, and systems thinking as essential tools for navigating information ecosystems that are fragmented, commercialized, and emotionally charged. We’ll look at real-world examples—from reproductive health apps and social media self-diagnosis to AI-generated health content—and consider what it takes to build resilience, credibility, and connection in this new environment. Health educators are not just communicators; we are system influencers in a digital world.