On September 30, 2014, Timothy Caulfield, a 2013 Trudeau Fellow and professor at UAlberta Faculty of Law, held a packed atrium at the Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres captive as he delivered a fascinating lecture debunking myths and assumptions about innovation in the health sector - from research on stem cells to diets to alternative medicine - for the benefit of the public and decision-makers. In his Trudeau Lecture, entitled 'Spinning Science: Getting to the Truth About Our Health', Professor Caulfield reflected on a career devoted to exploring how science is spun and why misperceptions persist.
Professor Caulfield reveled to the audience that much of what they hear and believe about health research has been twisted by a complex interplay of social and psychological forces such as individual cognitive biases, publication bias, ideological agendas, marketing pressures, media spin - even celebrity endorsements. In the lecture Professor Caulfield also spoke about his research into other factors, such as a lack of trust in conventional medicine and suspicion of the health industry.
"There is more health research and more sources of health information today than ever before," Professor Caulfield said reflecting on his recent Trudeau talk. "And surveys tell us that the public has a strong interest both in health science and in information about healthy living. But deep confusion remains about the individual and population actions - nutrition, exercise, weight management, and others - that can maintain and improve our health. Moreover, dangerous myths (such as those associated with vaccination) and pseudoscientific belief systems (like those underlying homeopathy) seem to be gaining traction."
"I hope that my work helps to inform the development of Canadian health and science policy," he continued. "We live in an era awash in evidence, but so often it is under-utilized or misapplied by the public, media, and policymakers."
In wrapping up his Trudeau lecture, Professor Caulfield discussed proposals to improve the situation, including strategies to enhance the integrity of and trust people have in the production of health information.
"I was honoured to have been asked by the Trudeau Foundation to deliver this lecture as part of their renowned Trudeau Lecture series," Professor Caulfield said in closing.
Additional Information:
Professor Caulfield writes frequently for the popular press, and speaks regularly on television, on a range of health and science policy issues. He is the author of The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (Penguin 2012), which spent several weeks as a non-fiction bestseller and was reviewed in the New York Times. He is currently looking forward to the publication of his second book with Penguin which utilizes the lens of celebrity culture to explore a range of myth about health, beauty and perceptions of the "good life".
He has won numerous awards for his academic work. In 2013 Professor Caulfield was awarded the prestigious Trudeau Fellowship by the Trudeau Foundation, and in 2007 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is also a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and has won the University of Alberta's Martha Cook Piper Prize for research excellence and the Alumni Horizon Award. In 2004, he was awarded the university's media relations award in recognition of his work with popular press.