Notice2022-04777
Impact of Health Misinformation in the Digital Information Environment in the United States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic Request for Information (RFI)
Primary source
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Published
March 7, 2022
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services Department
Abstract
The Office of the Surgeon General requests input from interested parties on the impact and prevalence of health misinformation in the digital information environment during the COVID- 19 pandemic. The purpose of this RFI is to understand the impact of COVID-19 misinformation on healthcare infrastructure and public health more broadly during the pandemic including (but not limited to) quality of care, health decisions and outcomes, direct and indirect costs, trust in the healthcare system and providers, and healthcare worker morale and safety, understand the unique role the information environment played in the societal response to the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for future public health emergencies, understand the impact of exposure to health misinformation and how access to trusted and credible health information, particularly during a public health emergency, impacts lifesaving health decisions such as an individual's likelihood to vaccinate; and use the information requested to prepare for and respond to future public health crises. HHS will consider the usability, applicability, and rigor of submissions in response to this RFI and share learnings from these responses with the public. Public comments and submissions will also be made available to the public and can be used for research purposes.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 44 (Monday, March 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12712-12714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04777]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Impact of Health Misinformation in the Digital Information
Environment in the United States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic
Request for Information (RFI)
AGENCY: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human
Services.
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Surgeon General requests input from
interested parties on the impact and prevalence of health
misinformation in the digital information environment during the COVID-
19 pandemic. The purpose of this RFI is to understand the impact of
COVID-19 misinformation on healthcare infrastructure and public health
more broadly during the pandemic including (but not limited to) quality
of care, health decisions and outcomes, direct and indirect costs,
trust in the healthcare system and providers, and healthcare worker
morale and safety, understand the unique role the information
environment played in the societal response to the COVID-19 pandemic
and implications for future public health emergencies, understand the
impact of exposure to health misinformation and how access to trusted
and credible health information, particularly during a public health
emergency, impacts lifesaving health decisions such as an individual's
[[Page 12713]]
likelihood to vaccinate; and use the information requested to prepare
for and respond to future public health crises. HHS will consider the
usability, applicability, and rigor of submissions in response to this
RFI and share learnings from these responses with the public. Public
comments and submissions will also be made available to the public and
can be used for research purposes.
DATES: To be assured consideration, comments must be received via the
methods provided below, no later than midnight Eastern Time (ET) on May
2, 2022. Submissions received after the deadline will not be reviewed.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by [Impact of Health
Misinformation in the Digital Information Environment in the United
States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic Request for Information (RFI)],
by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the instructions for sending comments.
<bullet> Form: [<a href="https://forms.office.com/g/kPPYHM15Uc">https://forms.office.com/g/kPPYHM15Uc</a>].
<bullet> Email: [<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#24676b726d60694d574d4a424b76626d644c4c570a434b52"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="98dbd7ced1dcd5f1ebf1f6fef7caded1d8f0f0ebb6fff7ee">[email protected]</span></a>]. Include [Impact of
Health Misinformation in the Digital Information Environment in the
United States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic Request for Information
(RFI)] in the subject line of the message.
You may respond to some or all of the topic areas covered in the
RFI. You may also include links to online material or interactive
presentations.
For information on public comments, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Max Lesko at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c3808c958a878eaab0aaada5ac91858a83ababb0eda4acb5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5a19150c131e17332933343c35081c131a323229743d352c">[email protected]</span></a>
or at (202) 893-5020.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Please feel free to respond to as many
topics as you choose. Responses should include the name of the person
(s) or organization (s) filing the comment, as well as the respondent
type (e.g., academic institution, advocacy group, professional society,
community-based organization, industry, member of the public,
government, and governmental entities such as libraries and public
health departments. Respondent's role in the organization, as
applicable, may also be provided (e.g., researcher, administrator,
student, product manager, journalist) on a voluntary basis. Comments
containing references, studies, research, and other empirical data that
are not widely published should include electronic links to the
referenced materials or be attached to the email. No proprietary
business information, copyrighted information, or personally
identifiable information should be submitted in response to this RFI.
Listening sessions will be hosted to allow oral comments and
submissions. Please be aware that all submissions will be reviewed and
relevant comments submitted in direct response to the information
requested in this RFI may be posted or otherwise released publicly.
I. Background
1. Health misinformation--health information that is false,
inaccurate, or misleading according to the best available evidence at
the time--has been a challenge during public health emergencies before,
including persistent rumors about HIV/AIDS that have undermined efforts
to reduce infection rates in the U.S. and during the Ebola epidemic.
But the speed, scale, and sophistication with which misinformation has
been spread during the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. Recent
research shows that most Americans believe or are unsure of at least
one COVID-19 vaccine falsehood. The digital information environment is
a phenomenon that requires further research and study to better prepare
for future public health emergencies. This RFI seeks to understand both
the impact of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and
the unique role that technology and social media platforms play in the
dissemination of critical health information during a public health
emergency. The inputs from stakeholders will help inform future
pandemic response in the context of an evolving digital information
environment.
II. Scope and Assumptions
<bullet> The definition of health misinformation for the purposes
of this RFI is health information that is false, inaccurate, or
misleading according to the best available evidence at the time.
<bullet> Exposure is defined as seeing content in newsfeeds, in
search results, or algorithmically nominated content.
<bullet> Potential exposure is the exposure users would have had if
they could see all the content that is eligible to appear in their
newsfeeds.
<bullet> Engagement includes the clicking or viewing of content, as
well as reacting.
<bullet> Sharing is the act of sharing a piece of pre-existing
content within social media.
<bullet> Technology platforms include the following: General search
engines, content sharing platforms, social media platforms, e-commerce
platforms, crowd sourced platforms, and instant messaging systems.
<bullet> Relevant dates for responses include January 2020-Present.
<bullet> Research, case studies, data sets, images, data
visualizations, interviews, and personal testimonies may be submitted.
<bullet> All information should be provided at a level of
granularity that preserves the privacy of users.
<bullet> If including data sets, please make the data available in
a downloadable, machine-readable format with accompanying metadata.
III. Information Requested/Key Questions
Please respond to specific topics where you have both expertise and
sufficient evidence to support your comments. Respondents are requested
to share objective results of an evaluation for each topic when
possible. A response to every item is not required.
Information About Impact on Healthcare
1. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has affected
quality of patient care during the pandemic.
a. Information about how important a role COVID-19 misinformation
played in patient decisions not to vaccinate, including the types of
misinformation that influenced decisions.
b. Information about the media sources from which patients are
receiving misinformation and if such information has negatively
influenced their healthcare decisions or resulted in patient harm.
2. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
healthcare systems and infrastructure.
a. Information about time and resources spent addressing COVID-19
misinformation.
b. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
healthcare worker morale and safety in the workplace, including
instances of online harassment or harm.
2. Information About Technology Platforms
3. Information about how widespread COVID-19 misinformation is on
individual technology platforms including: General search engines,
content sharing platforms, social media platforms, e-commerce
platforms, crowd sourced platforms, and instant messaging systems.
a. Starting with, but not limited to, these common examples of
COVID-19 vaccine misinformation documented by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), any aggregate data
[[Page 12714]]
and analysis on the prevalence of COVID-19 misinformation on individual
platforms including exactly how many users saw or may have been exposed
to instances of COVID-19 misinformation.
b. Any aggregate data and analysis on how many users were exposed,
were potentially exposed, or otherwise engaged with COVID-19
misinformation.
i. Exposure is defined as seeing content in newsfeeds, in search
results, or algorithmically nominated content.
ii. Potential exposure is the exposure users would have had if they
could see all the content that is eligible to appear within their
newsfeeds.
iii. Engagement includes the clicking or viewing of content, as
well as reacting. Sharing is the act of sharing a piece of pre-existing
content within social media.
c. Any aggregate data broken down by demographics on groups or
populations who may have been differentially exposed to or impacted by
COVID-19 misinformation.
4. Information about COVID-19 misinformation policies on individual
technology platforms.
a. Any aggregate data and analysis of technology platform COVID-19
misinformation policies including implementation of those policies and
evaluations of their effectiveness.
5. Information about sources of COVID-19 misinformation.
a. Information about the major sources of COVID-19 misinformation
associated with exposure.
i. By source we mean both specific, public actors that are
providing misinformation, as well as components of specific platforms
that are driving exposure to information.
6. Information about COVID-19 misinformation from sources engaged
in the sale of unproven COVID-19 products or services (e.g.,
prescriptions for unapproved or unauthorized drugs, sales of
alternative cures, or sales of other unapproved or unauthorized COVID-
19 medical products), or other money-making models.
Information About Impacted Communities
7. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
individuals and communities.
a. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
organizations that serve communities directly through service (e.g.,
libraries and food banks), and community-based organizations that are
faith-based or provide affinity to communities (e.g., clubs and
sororities or fraternities).
b. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
community members: Individuals and families.
IV. How To Submit Your Response
To facilitate review of your responses, please reference the
subject of the RFI in your response. You may respond to some or all of
the topic areas covered in the RFI, and you can suggest other factors
or relevant questions. You may also include links to online material or
interactive presentations. If including data sets, please make the data
available in a downloadable, machine-readable format with accompanying
metadata.
Please note that this is a request for information (RFI) only. In
accordance with the implementing regulations of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA), specifically 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(4), this general
solicitation is exempt from the PRA. Facts or opinions submitted in
response to general solicitations of comments from the public,
published in the Federal Register or other publications, regardless of
the form or format thereof, provided that no person is required to
supply specific information pertaining to the commenter, other than
that necessary for self-identification, as a condition of the agency's
full consideration, are not generally considered information
collections and therefore not subject to the PRA.
This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it
does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), applications,
proposal abstracts, or quotations. This RFI does not commit the U.S.
Government to contract for any supplies or services or make a grant
award. Further, we are not seeking proposals through this RFI and will
not accept unsolicited proposals. We note that not responding to this
RFI does not preclude participation in any future procurement, if
conducted. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to
monitor this RFI announcement for additional information pertaining to
this request.
HHS may or may not choose to contact individual responders. Such
communications would be for the sole purpose of clarifying statements
in written responses. Contractor support personnel may be used to
review responses to this RFI. Responses to this notice are not offers
and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or
issue a grant. Information obtained as a result of this RFI may be used
by the Government for program planning on a non-attribution basis. This
RFI should not be construed as a commitment or authorization to incur
cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All
submissions become U.S. Government property; they will not be returned,
and we may publish some of their content.
Dated: March 2, 2022.
Max Lesko,
Chief of Staff, Office of the Surgeon General.
[FR Doc. 2022-04777 Filed 3-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-28-P
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