The purpose of this guide is to share government resources aimed at promoting health literacy and preventing the spread of false information known as misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. Before you explore these resources, please review a few definitions.
According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),
Some government publications and resources use the term “misinformation” regardless of the intentions of the creators. Others distinguish between the different types of false information or refer to them collectively as MDM.
Personal health literacy is defined as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Organizational health literacy is “the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others,” according to the CDC.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). What is health literacy? https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html#:~:text=Personal%20health%20literacy%20is%20the,actions%20for%20themselves%20and%20others.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (n.d.). Tools of disinformation: Inauthentic content. https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/mdm-inauthentic-content-product-english_508.pdf
Network of the National Library of Medicine. (2023, April 18). Strategies to Combat Health Misinformation. [Video]. YouTube.
CISA has several publications that address internet fraud and misinformation. Bug Bytes, the second graphic novel in the Resilience Series, specifically addresses health misinformation.
Bug Bytes (Resilience Series) by Search the National Library of Medicine Bookshelf for books on a variety of topics.
Developing health literacy skills in children and youth: Proceedings of a workshop by 
Equipping health professions educators to better address medical misinformation by 
Integrating Oral and General Health Through Health Literacy Practices by 
What are the historical roots of the COVID-19 infodemic? Lessons from the past by 
The following free full-text articles can be found in PubMed, a biomedical and health sciences database maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Library of Medicine, located at the National Institutes of Health.
Use these databases and search engines to find more government publications and resources.
