Living in the age of information and technology comes with many benefits and advantages. You can connect with people from all around the world, order your favorite food, and do your banking, all with a few clicks and from the comfort of your own couch. You can also find the answer to almost all of your questions! Or can you? Join us for the Wellness Wednesday event on May 4th at noon to hear from Dr. Julie Robillard, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and leader of the NEST lab, to learn about health misinformation, and ethical practices in the realm of social media and technology.
The issue with this massive wealth of information is that it can be quite cumbersome to parse out the correct answers from false or unverified information. Moreover, experiences of one person may not necessarily translate well to others, but these experiences are often advertised in a glamours way regardless.
Now this is not a massive issue if the topic at hand is the best Sushi restaurant in your neighborhood. However, when it comes to health information one must be especially vigilant about the sort of information that is encountered on the internet, as the consequences of following misinformation can be costly and dangerous. In our next Wellness Wednesday session, we will tackle the health misinformation problem and provide you with tools and tricks for accessing and identifying reliable sources for health-related information on the internet and social media.
Speaker
Dr. Julie Robillard
Dr. Julie Robillard, is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of British Columbia and Scientist in Patient Experience at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals. She leads the Neuroscience, Engagement and Smart Tech (NEST) lab, where she brings her background in neuroscience and biomedical ethics to the development and evaluation of technologies to support brain health across the lifespan. She explores interdisciplinary co-creation processes and ethical end-user engagement with technologies from social media to social robots. She holds national and international leadership roles, including Chair of the Technology and Dementia Committee of the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment.