Programme

Tuesday 24 November 10.00 - 12.00

The overall objective of this conference was to better enable participants explore challenges and solutions in building trust and truth in health research.

Through this conference we hoped to address the following aims: 

  • To raise participants awareness and understanding of ‘misinformation and disinformation’ and its consequences.
  • To explore the solutions available to everyone for assessing the credibility of any health claim and to become aware of trusted sources.
  • To delve into the responsibilities on everyone for integrity in reporting and sharing health claims

 

Session A: Understanding health misinformation and disinformation

With so many claims made about health, this session will help address how to recognise reliable claims, think critically and make more informed decisions about health policy, practice and personal health choices.

Session moderator: Dr Teresa Maguire, Director of Research Strategy and Funding, HRB

10:00 – 10:15     Welcome and introduction:  Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD and Dr Mairéad O Driscoll, Chief Executive, Health Research Board

10:15 – 10:45     Keynote: Sir Iain Chalmers, Co-founder of the Cochrane Library and co-ordinator of the James Lind Library. 'Can unaccountable research ethics committees be trusted to help protect patients and the public?'

Break 

11:00 – 11:20     Presentation: Professor Declan Devane 'Thinking critically about health claims'

11:20 – 11:40     Presentation: Dr Gillian Murphy 'Fake News, False Memories & Fact-Checkers: Understanding and combatting health misinformation'  

11:40 – 12:00     Session Q&A

Tuesday 24 November 15.00 - 17.00

Session B: Assessing the credibility of health claims

This session will explore the concept of evidence-based medicine and the important role of health practitioners and patients in the critical analysis of evidence to make informed decisions about health.

Session moderator: Avril Kennan, Chief Executive, Health Research Charities Ireland

15:00 – 15:15     Welcome and introduction:  Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD and Dr Mairéad O Driscoll, Chief Executive, Health Research Board

15:15 – 15:45     Keynote: Professor Edzard Ernst 'Research into so-called alternative medicine'

Break   

16:00 – 16:40     Presentation: Margaret McCartney Deirdre MacLoughlin  'Dare to know - Stakeholder collaboration in finding the truth in conflicting science' 

16:40 – 17:00     Session Q&A 

Wednesday 25 November 14.00 - 17.00

Session C: Responsibility and integrity in reporting health research

This session will address the role of researchers, funders, policymakers and media to ensure that approaches to conducting and reporting research, as well as communicating outcomes, are reliable and robust.  

Session moderator: Dr Claire O Connell, journalist and broadcaster

14:00 – 14:15    Welcome and introduction:  Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD and Dr Mairéad O Driscoll, Chief Executive, Health Research Board

14:15 – 14:45    Presentation: Dr David Moher 'Promoting trustworthy research: do we need to modify current perverse incentives and rewards when assessing researchers?'

Break   

15:00 – 15:20     Presentation: Dr Maura Hiney & Professor Anita Maguire  'Developing a culture of good research practice: National and international examples'

15:20 – 15:50     Keynote: Mark Little 'Flattening the curve of misinformation ... strategies for success in a world of alternative facts'

Break   

16:05 – 16:25     Presentation: Dr Eileen Culloty 'Understanding and countering healthcare disinformation'

16:25 – 16:55     Panel Q&A