(and lack of information)
The news of a case of Lassa fever in LUTH ,came to me in the form of conversation between a student doctor and a consultant on Wednesday , the 2nd of August and though i didn't pay it much mind i became extra cautious . Early , the following week i read from an online source (though questionable) that a nurse alongside two other patients had died from it and a medical doctor who performed the autopsy on one of the victims was critically ill and was undergoing treatment in isolation.
Thursday , same week the college was set abuzz with rumors of a suspected case of lassa fever at the OPH female hostel , with the floor even specified . Not a few female friends of mine started making plans to go home ( an unwise decision ) and students (including this writer ) started whipping out hand sanitizers we had forgotten about since the end of the ebola scourge .
Kudos to the student's senate and executives who conducted an investigation and helped dispel the rumor .
Now during this period ,misinformation (and lack of information) was rife, it was bothersome that the College and LUTH authorities were considerably silent on the matter. This is a campus environment and news spread ; bad news moreso . It is only logical that the students get firsthand and trusted information directly from the Authorities and not rely on hearsay , spiced gists and blogs (excluding of course medilag essense) .
ASSESSMENT
How do you judge information brought forth to you
Assess for proof of information provided
Assess for logical standing of information
Assess for source of information
Assess for authority of the provider of the information
Assess yourself for ability to judge information
DIAGNOSIS
* (terms here are fictional nomenclature for real problems)
The scourge of MISINFORMATION about diseases and health condition comes in various forms and is due to various causes.
OWOPHILIA - It could be in the form of greedy people trying to make quick cash off unsuspecting victims . Prime cases here are Religious clerics selling healing concoctions and paraphernalia instead of advicing the sick to seek immediate medical attention . Authors also seize such oppurtunities to write and publish many volumes about a particular disease while it is in season without recourse to validity and authenticity . Herbal concoctions fall here too .
HYPERPHOBIA and PHOBIAOMA - heightened fear and desperation and the ease with which it is transmitted from victims to others is a prime risk factor for misinformation . An example here is the case of more people dying from drinking large quantities of salt and water solution (due to the misinformation that this could cure ebola ) than from Ebola itself in Nigeria .
DATATROPHY - this is the deliberate shrinkage of information by appropriate authorities in order to save face or stem panic. Case in point ; the college (and Federal Government on Buhari's health ) . Another case is one i witnessed where an RVD patient's condition was held back from the nurses and students who were taking care of the man , due to the fact that the patient was a prominent man in the society .
IGNORANCITIS - Inflamed ignorance. Self explanatory .
PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
How can we as medical students manage the scourge of misinformation :
As medical students we are expected to have basic knowledge about the various diseases that are plaguing our immediate environment. We are to continually update our knowldedge base by reading up articles online and gaining practical knowledge from postings to the wards and sieving information gathered using proper scientific rationales and good old common sense .
Secondly , don't be a party to sharing unconfirmed rumors as this would just lead to unnecessary panic . Even if you have to send questionable information in order for people to take better precautions , then at least after the #COPIED tag on the post , add #NOTCONFIRMED tag to it too.
Thirdly , Universally approved Health and Safety procedures should be practised at all times by students of the college , most especially those who go on postings to the wards. We should not wait until we know there's a lassa fever outbreak before we realise that soaps are used in handwashing or that there are five moments of Handwashing or that handwashing is a procedure.
Fourthly, do not shy away from opportunities to counter false information whenever you hear them, with scientifically sound theories . As medical students the public expect that we can all deliver pregnancies and treat cancer and syphilis and hence respect information we give them concerning health issues , . We should use this pedestal to quell false rumors
Finally , ask questions and if not convinced by the answer ask someone higher up . Be assertive , If you're asked to carry out a procedure on a patient without the appropriate safety wears , politely request for them and politely decline if unavailable.
EVALUATION
Share cases of misinformation that shocked you , or false beliefs you've held onto for so long (I believed humans first got HIV when a man had sex with a monkey ).
How do you know you're cured of and immune to misinformation . Well , no one is totally immune to misinformation , we only become more objective and strive to not mix or miss information.
Article by: Michael Udeh Chukwudebube Harrison (MUCH)
300lvl Nursing science
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