Making Sense of Health Headlines

Lindsey Leininger, PhD, a scientist and educator, shares tips for making sense of health headlines, and separating fact from fiction.

She believes that access to accurate, digestible, science-based information is a right, and a strong social determinant of health. Her tips span scientific literacy, data literacy and media literacy. While the conversation centers on COVID-19, it applies to all health topics.

Dr. Leininger is a public health scientist and educator, who is on the front lines of COVID-19 science communication. As part of an all-female team of “Nerdy Girl” scientists, she runs the COVID-19 educational campaign @Dear Pandemic on social media, with over 900 answers to questions from the public.

Dr. Leininger is on faculty at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College where she teaches courses on making sense of medical data. She holds a PhD in health policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

This episode is the first of a two part conversation. Check out part two for a discussion of how to fight misinformation,  from vaccine hesitancy, anti-vax, and COVID-19 denial.

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