The PICO (patient, intervention, comparator, and outcome) criteria was a useful tool that the authors presented to help ask the right questions with reference to clinical trials for vaccines, development of drugs, and the healthcare industry in general.

The two-day Misinformation in Medicine Summit ended with a bang. The last session saw the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) launch a comprehensive guide on ‘Investigating Health and Medicine’.

“During the pandemic, many journalists have been forced to become healthcare experts overnight – no easy task. The guide aims to bring journalists and others up to speed and focuses on key areas of health and medicine,” said Anne Koch, the moderator of the session, who is also the program director at GIJN and former editor at the BBC.

The hour-long session had the authors of the new GIJN guide, Serena Tinari, and Catherine Riva, address some of the key issues highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, before diving into pressing concerns about public understanding of drug development and approval, scientific studies and assessing evidence, etc, the journalists started with a brief virtual ‘tour’ of the new guide – explaining its contents and how they can be used – not only by journalists but anyone who wishes to investigate and write about health.

As the co-founders of Re-Check, a non-profit organisation specialised in investigating and mapping health affairs, Serena and Catherine have rich experience in tackling challenges related to medical writing. Serena is an investigative journalist who has reported extensively on the H1N1 pandemic and Tamiflu, while Catherine has reported on the Mediator case, breast cancer screening programs, and controversies related to HPV vaccination.

“Beware of oversimplification,” said Serena, as she shared examples of how the media covered the American multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer’s recent press releases about its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The “flawed narrative” was largely due to the lack of context and unclear assertions that were taken at face value.

“Always read the disclaimer,” advised Catherine, while elaborating on the need for evidence-based reporting in medicine. The PICO (patient, intervention, comparator, and outcome) criteria was a useful tool that the authors presented to help ask the right questions with reference to clinical trials for vaccines, development of drugs, and the healthcare industry in general.

The ‘top 10 tips for investigating health’ offered a succinct look at the common pitfalls and learning curve associated with writing about health. The strategies and tips discussed will definitely come in handy for all those who want to hone their skills to better understand health and medicine.

Perhaps, the spirit of inquiry and investigation is what we need at present to ride out the tsunami of medical misinformation in the pandemic world.