Cut Through COVID-19 Misinformation and Disinformation with Vanderbilt University’s Eskind Biomedical Library

Nathan Schutt, data analysis coordinator for the Nashville Promise Zone, interviewed Philip Walker, director of Vanderbilt University’s Eskind Biomedical Library, about how to sort through all the information on COVID-19. Walker has been a medical librarian for 16 years and has been the director of the Eskind Biomedical Library since 2018.

The Nashville Promise Zone is a collaboration among the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA), six primary implementation partners and a network of nonprofit and local government leaders, whose mission is to foster intensive partnerships among Nashville’s organizations that serve high-poverty neighborhoods, improve the collective impact of their service and address revitalization in a collaborative way.

Walker talked about what to look for as an informed consumer of health information. He suggested checking the author’s credentials, looking for citations of peer-reviewed studies and seeking out current information. The World Health Organization (WHO), the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all provide high quality, up-to-date information. Public and university libraries can help identify credible research.

Check out some of Walker’s favorite resources like the WHO’s video series Science in 5 and the NLM’s online information service MedlinePlus.

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Previously published in Nashville Promise Zone web blog, November 22, 2021