HJBR Nov/Dec 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  NOV / DEC 2022 45 Karen C. Lyon, PhD, MBA, APRN-CNS, NEA Chief Executive Officer Louisiana State Board of Nursing by the Center for Health Security for iden- tifying and responding to false informa- tion: If you see false information online: • Don’t repeat or retweet the lie, even with a correction! • If you don’t know the source or know if the source is legitimate, limit direct engagement. • Report it to social media companies. • Provide true information. If you need to respond to people who believe false information: • Engage respectfully. • Connect along common values. • Talk about tactics and how misinfor- mation draws you in. • Discuss alternative explanations. • Encourage verification. • Provide alternative sources. Ways to check for false information • Use web-based tools and services that can provide unbiased assess- ment of source credibility. • Verify the information with other news sources, trusted people in your network, or cross-referencing with the best information available. • Ensure that the source is known, credible, and trusted by taking a close look at the social media account, web URL, or layout that might suggest lack of editorial oversight. • Think twice about messages that seem designed to appeal to emotions. Increase awareness of disinformation campaign tactics and personal biases that influence judgment of sources and infor- mation, as well as one’s capacity to change opinion when presented with new evi- dence.” 1 DISINFORMATION MANAGEMENT FOR NURSES Porter-O’Grady and Bredimus (2022) identify the management of misinforma- tion and disinformation as a leadership skill that can be developed in nursing leaders. 4 They discuss the challenges that nurses have been faced with in evaluating the false and dangerous ‘noise’ that has erupted with the pandemic. These are not the usual challenges that nursing leaders have faced in distant and recent times. Best solutions emerge from research and best evidence. The profession needs to commit to a consistent approach to information management. Using a case scenario ana- lyzing a nurse leader’s response to disin- formation on a community-wide basis, the authors have provided lessons for nursing advocacy and risk-taking when faced with a crisis. Lesson 1 : Compliance cannot be threat- ened. Individuals make decisions based on myriad factors — emotional, social, knowl- edge acquisition, and cost-benefit anal- yses. Promotion of changed behaviors is more likely to be accomplished by creating incentives. Lesson 2: There are real risks to sepa- rating fact from fiction and providing data that is accurate and legitimate. The nursing leader must be prepared for the emotional and passionate responses from those who don’t share the leader’s perspective. Good decision-making is supported by collab- orating with other leaders in a variety of professions and disciplines who are chal- lenged with these same issues. Lesson 3: Nurses are well-respected, as we learned during the early months of the pandemic, and which has been supported consistently over the past 20 years in the Gallup Poll of most trusted professionals. Nurses can become vital, reliable, respect- ed resources of valid information for ana- lyzing and responding to crises. Lesson 4: Calm and reasoned responses to emotionally charged issues influence confidence in others and can help to lower the emotional temperature of conflict. Lesson 5: Intense reactions to crises are to be expected. People need a safe space in which to express their feelings, and the nurse leader needs to work toward align- ment of conflicting views. Lesson 6: The effective nurse leader will recognize the need for promotion of staff mental well-being. Clarity and consen- sus-building should be promoted. Crisis management requires resilience, patience, wisdom, and courage. Effective nurse leaders will recognize their responsi- bility for accuracy in information dissem- ination in complex scenarios. They must demonstrate professionalism, attention to detail, and a calm approach to present ac- curate content using clear language. n REFERENCES 1 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Pub- lic Health. “Meeting COVID-19 Misinformation and Disinformation Head-On” (accessed Sept. 2022). https://publichealth.jhu.edu/meet- ing-covid-19-misinformation-and-disinforma- tion-head-on 2 Union of Concerned Scientists. “COVID-19 Dis- information: How to Spot It—and Stop It” (last updated Feb. 12, 2021). https://www.ucsusa.org/ resources/covid-19-disinformation 3 Volkin, S. “Recognizing disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Johns Hopkins Uni- versity Hub (May 8, 2020). https://hub.jhu. edu/2020/05/08/thomas-rid-disinforma- tion-in-covid-19-pandemic/ 4 Porter-O’Grady, T.; Bredimus, B. “A Reflection on Disinformation Management for Nurse Lead- ers.” Nurse Leader 20, no. 4 (Aug. 1, 2022): 404- 409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2022.01.007