Misinformation can kill. Along with the COVID-19 pandemic is the overabundance of fake news — an infodemic. Pieces of incorrect information, mistruths, and conspiracies have spread throughout the globe, creating distrust, uncertainty, and fear among the public. This poses a great threat to maintaining the integrity of information and, most significantly, public health. Thus, organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations (UN), have developed a series of campaigns and initiatives to combat the spread of the COVID-19 infodemic.
On September 7, 2021, six UST Nursing students won the Generation Connect Video Pitch Challenge organized by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (UN ITU), an innovation challenge that aims to encourage the youth to present their ideas and solutions towards closing the digital divide.
NeoFlorence as the new lamp that guides the pursuit of truth
NeoFlorence, a team formed by third-year Thomasian Nursing students led by Qjiel Mariano, Trisha Mangahas, Stephen Marasigan, Ivan Martinez, Zysha Marquez, and Anne Novales, won the pitch with their proposal NARS: Nursing Assistance and Reinforcement System.
NARS is a COVID-19 anti-misinformation artificial intelligence application that detects COVID-19-related posts and identifies them as either valid information or misinformation. A health literacy assessment is done before you can integrate the software extension to social media websites, enabling NARS to determine your level of understanding and use of health information. Once the extension is activated and misinformation is detected, NARS notifies NeoFlorence, and the team will suggest good and reliable articles. NARS also allows its users to send an article to NeoFlorence for clarifications and explanations. It also includes a reinforcement system that gives credit to those who have identified and reported misinformation.
NARS and the nurses behind its creation
During their preparation, the student nurses looked into public health concerns and solutions as inspirations for their project. The rate and far-reaching spread of false information on COVID-19, especially regarding vaccines, needed to be addressed. Frustrated with the number of fake news, “We channeled that stressful energy into a more productive thing,” said the group. With the added guidance of faculty members Dr. Gian Carlo Torres and Dr. Sarah Maria Salazar, NeoFlorence developed an innovative solution to address the proliferation of fake health news and promote health literacy and awareness.
Before participating in the UN ITU’s pitch challenge, NeoFlorence also ventured into APRU’s (Association of Pacific Rim Universities) Solutions for COVID-19 Pandemic Control: Vaccines and Beyond, wherein they, unfortunately, failed to win. “You are never denied; you are only redirected to something bigger,” Mariano recalled one of his professor’s statements. Maintaining their optimism and belief in their project, the group continued to participate in several campaigns and contests until they finally bagged the UN Innovation Challenge win.
Finally, when asked about their most memorable experience, NeoFlorence agreed that it is the feeling of fulfillment after overcoming the clutch and the pressure and the satisfaction of being able to help others. They also left a message to our current student nurses saying, “Let’s be more responsible,” and “Let’s just continue bringing out the best in each other.”
SOURCES:
https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/ust-student-nurses-win-un-innovation-challenge-with-covid-19-ai/
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/fighting-misinformation-in-the-time-of-covid-19-one-click-at-a-time
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Innovation/Pages/Events/2021/Generation-Connect-Video-Pitch-Challenge-Winners.aspx
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