Communicating Effectively to Overcome Misinformation
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A D V A N C E M E N T O F T H E PRACTICE
D I R E C T F R O M C D C E N V I R O N M E N T A L H E A LT H S E R V I C E S
Communicating
Effectively to Overcome
Misinformation
Anna Khan, MPH, Tabitha Dove Sarah Segerlind,
REHS, RS, MT MPH
to get information out to the public quickly
E d i t o r ’s N o t e : The National Environmental Health Association to address this misinformation and commu-
(NEHA) strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on nicate about how to use cleaners and disin-
environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In fectants safely.
To address this need, we developed several
pursuit of these goals, NEHA features this column on environmental
social media messages and posted them to
health services from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC social media accounts in both English
(CDC) in every issue of the Journal. and Spanish. The messages focused on vari-
In these columns, authors from CDC’s Water, Food, and Environmental ous topics, including using cleaning and dis-
Health Services Branch, as well as guest authors, will share insights and infectant chemicals correctly, taking steps to
information about environmental health programs, trends, issues, and poison proof one’s home, and using alcohol-
based hand sanitizers safely.
resources. The conclusions in these columns are those of the author(s) and
To help amplify our messages, we coordi-
do not necessarily represent the official position of CDC. nated with the U.S. Environmental Protec-
Anna Khan, Tabitha Dove, and Sarah Segerlind work in communications tion Agency. We discussed how we could
at the CDC Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. align our messages, amplify each other’s
outreach, and ensure our communication
reached the public. We also worked together
to ensure that our guidance materials were
Introduction products, and the beginning of local and state easy to find on each other’s websites. This
In April 2020, the Centers for Disease Con- stay-at-home orders. collaboration allowed our messages to be in
trol and Prevention (CDC) and the Ameri- sync, increase public awareness, and reach a
can Association of Poison Control Centers Communicating Safe and wider audience.
published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Appropriate Use of Cleaners Social media metrics demonstrated that
Report article describing an increase in calls and Disinfectants people were interested in information
to U.S. poison centers related to exposures The need to post messages about the safe regarding safe use of cleaners and disin-
to cleaners and disinfectants (Chang et al., use of cleaning and disinfecting products fectants. Messages related to safe clean-
2020). Using data from the National Poi- occurred in March 2020 as part of National ing and disinfecting performed well on the
son Data System, a near real-time database Poison Prevention Week. This issue contin- CDC Environmental Health Twitter account
of calls to poison centers across the coun- ued to be a concern and the results of the and the main CDC Twitter and Facebook
try, researchers found that poison centers Chang and coauthors (2020) study high- handles. These metrics included both high
nationwide received 45,550 calls regarding lighted the need to continue to communi- impressions (i.e., how many users saw the
exposures to cleaners and disinfectants from cate safe and appropriate use of cleaners and message) and engagements (i.e., how many
January–March 2020 (Figure 1). This finding disinfectants to the general public to prevent times users interacted with the message by
was an increase of approximately 20% from potential poisonings and injuries. During this doing retweets, likes, comments, clicks, or
the same time frame in 2019. This increase time, we also received inquiries from the gen- shares). These metrics that measure social
in exposures coincided with increased media eral public asking about the use of cleaners media impact demonstrate that the pub-
coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, con- and disinfectants, particularly on food and lic was interested in this topic and wanted
sumer shortages of cleaning and disinfectant food contact surfaces. We knew it was critical to learn more about the dangers of clean-
44 Volume 83 • Number 6
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
Daily Exposures to Cleaners and Disinfectants, National Poison Data Example of a Food
System, January–March 2020 Disinfectant Tweet From the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention
Source: Chang et al, 2020.
ers and disinfectants, as well as how they Currently, no cases of #COVID19 have been
could keep themselves and their loved ones identified where infection was thought to
safe. In March 2020, messages shared on the have occurred by touching food, food pack-
CDC Environmental Health Twitter account aging, or shopping bags. Learn more about can spread quickly via social media, it is
related to safe cleaning and disinfecting aver- food safety: https://bit.ly/2VzvMHW.” This especially important to speak first, commu-
aged nearly 142,000 impressions and 3,100 message reached more than 260,278 Twit- nicate first, and engage first with your audi-
engagements. By comparison, March social ter users (impressions) and received nearly ence. This process helps prevent rumors
media messages shared on the CDC Environ- 8,120 engagements (interactions), including and misinformation from being the first
mental Health Twitter account not related 557 likes and 456 retweets. In comparison, items that reach your audience and fill the
to safe cleaning and disinfecting averaged social media messages shared on the CDC information gap that they might be expe-
21,000 impressions and 387 engagements Environmental Health Twitter account dur- riencing in the absence of messaging from
overall. The message about keeping cleaning ing July averaged 34,317 impressions and you. Additionally, it is best to stay on mes-
and disinfecting chemicals away from kids 620 engagements overall. sage and avoid repeating the misinforma-
was the top performing tweet on the CDC tion or rumors. When you repeat misinfor-
Environmental Health Twitter account by Communicating Effectively in an mation or a rumor when addressing it, you
impressions (199,000) in April. Information Rich Environment end up giving it a second life, confusing
Following the sharp increase in calls to As a public health agency, one of the main your audience and perpetuating the incor-
poison centers, CDC researched knowledge levers of change we have is effective com- rect information.
and practices regarding the use of household munication. Data and scientific evidence are Social media can be powerful. For some
cleaners and disinfectants. Researchers con- only as good as how effectively you can com- people it is a main source for information.
ducted a nationally representative survey to municate them. Public health guidance can Social media can also be an effective way to
identify gaps in knowledge related to clean- help our target audiences only if they are able get health information out to various audi-
ing and disinfection (Gharpure et al., 2020). to understand and implement the recommen- ences quickly.
Some of the high-risk behaviors included the dations we provide. We are always engaging more than one
use of bleach on food products. We live in an information rich environ- audience group, which needs to be consid-
Throughout summer 2020, CDC’s Division ment and social media has become an ered every time we message. We need to
of Environmental Health Science and Prac- engaging source for information, especially consider the people we are trying to reach,
tice continued to share pertinent social media if the event is a crisis, is unique, and has the different platforms that are available, and
messages to correct misinformation regard- its followers’ interest. Social media allows how we can communicate effectively to pro-
ing how to properly clean food and food people to express their thoughts, opinions, tect public health as a whole.
packaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. and share information with their friends,
Figure 2 shows one of our top performing family, and others. These social media mes- Corresponding Author: Anna Khan, CDR,
messages in July: “DO NOT use bleach solu- sages come with content and guidance from U.S. Public Health Service, Associate Direc-
tions or other disinfecting products on food. different sources. Because misinformation tor for Communication, Division of Environ-
January/February 2021 • Journal of Environmental Health 45
A D V A N C E M E N T O F T H E PRACTICE
mental Health Science and Practice, National H.L., Funk, A.R., Mercurio-Zappala, M., Gharpure, R., Hunter, C.M., Schnall, A.H.,
Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Calello, D.P., Aleguas, A., Borys, D.J., Barrett, C.E., Kirby, A.E., Kunz, J., Berling,
Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Boehmer, T., & Svendsen, E. (2020). K., Mercante, J.W., Murphy, J.L., & Garcia-
Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717. Cleaning and disinfectant chemical expo- Williams, A.G. (2020). Knowledge and
E-mail: vgj4@cdc.gov. sures and temporal associations with practices regarding safe household clean-
COVID-19—National Poison Data Sys- ing and disinfection for COVID-19 preven-
References tem, United States, January 1, 2020–March tion—United States, May 2020. Morbid-
Chang, A., Schnall, A.H., Law, R., Bronstein, 31, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly ity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(23),
A.C., Marraffa, J.M., Spiller, H.A., Hays, Report, 69(16), 496–498. 705–709.
The NEHA Board of Directors recently approved several updated policy
statements that replace previous ones that had reached their sunset dates.
Did You The updated statements focus on the following topics: the Food and
Drug Administration Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program
Know? Standards, climate change, onsite wastewater systems, raw milk, the Model
Aquatic Health Code, and cannabis-infused food products. You can access
NEHA’s policy statements at www.neha.org/publications/position-papers.
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