Recent outbreaks of measles, mumps and pertussis in North America – and the re-emergence of other vaccine preventable diseases – have brought the vaccination debate to the fore in Canada.
On Wednesday, May 13 and Thursday, May 14, 2015, Carleton University’s Faculty of Public Affairs will hold a workshop focusing on the problem of vaccine hesitancy and the risk communication challenges it presents. The workshop, called Vaccine Hesitancy: Combating a ‘Wicked’ Risk Communication Problem, will be offered as part of the FPA Professional Institute. Registration is still open for the workshop here.
The workshop is being led by Josh Greenberg, director of Carleton’s School of Journalism and Communication, and John Rainford, director of The Warning Project. A keynote called Celebrities, Pseudoscience and Social Media: What’s Driving Vaccine Hesitancy? will be delivered on May 13 by Timothy Caulfield. Caulfield is author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash and Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta.
Greenberg, Rainford and Caulfield are available for interviews about vaccine hesitancy leading up to the event. Contact Christopher.Cline@Carleton.ca to set up an interview.
As an expert in health law and policy at the University of Alberta, Caulfield’s investigations of pseudoscience extend much further than celebrity diets.
“We’re at a very interesting time in history because all of this great science is being produced, but it’s never been so twisted with so much baloney being shared,” said Caulfield in a phone interview. “It’s a fascinating tension between the two realities and that’s playing out in the context of vaccinations.
“Vaccine hesitancy is an extremely complicated problem because these people are not scientifically illiterate; they feel they’ve educated themselves on the issue,” said Caulfield. “They are driven, in part, by a lack of trust in traditional sources of health information and in the pharmaceutical industry. They believe the research is compromised.”
Caulfield adds that the problem has been exacerbated by social media: “Twitter, Facebook, and blogs are all disseminating and magnifying this pseudoscience. It creates communities that support these beliefs.”
The professional institute is bringing in experts from across North America to discuss the profile of people who are vaccine hesitant, as well as strategies to improve communication with them. Caulfield argues health authorities have to keep the conversation going.
“Providing scientific information alone doesn’t change people’s minds. But I think we have to keep hammering away at the facts,” said Caulfield. “We can’t shy away from engaging and if we don’t engage loudly, we won’t be heard—because the internet’s not going away.”
For more information, visit Carleton.ca/FPA-Professionalinstitute.
Carleton is excited to be offering six professional development courses this year at the Faculty of Public Affairs. These professional education opportunities are part of FPA’s mission to help build a better society and stronger democratic institutions.
Media Inquiries:
Chris Cline
Media Relations Officer
Carleton University
613-520-2600, ext. 1391
christopher_cline@carleton.ca
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