The “Combating Health Misinformation” project, an ambitious initiative operating under the CIVIS Open Lab framework, recently celebrated a milestone with a successful co-creation workshop aimed at arming citizens with the tools to navigate the complex digital landscape of health information. This collaborative effort unites the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Sapienza University of Rome, and the University of Bucharest. Under the scientific coordination of Professor Flora Malamateniou from the NKUA Department of Nursing, the project leverages interdisciplinary expertise from the fields of nursing and communication studies to develop advanced digital applications and serious games. By merging academic rigor with participatory design, the team seeks to turn evidence-based research into practical, user-friendly solutions that address the urgent societal challenge of medical misinformation.
The workshop, hosted at The HOME Project, provided a pivotal platform for direct engagement between researchers and their target audience: teenagers and the professionals who support them. By involving young people directly in the creation process, the project ensures that the resulting digital tools are not only scientifically accurate but also culturally resonant and age-appropriate. Through a series of dynamic, interactive exercises, participants shared their personal encounters with health misinformation, allowing the research team to map out the specific digital environments where these falsehoods proliferate. This grassroots approach ensures that the eventual application and game will be built upon the actual experiences and pain points of those most frequently exposed to digital health content.
During the sessions, the participants explored critical dimensions of digital literacy, focusing on the skills required to effectively evaluate sources and scrutinize health-related claims. Small-group breakout sessions allowed for the co-design of realistic misinformation scenarios, where participants brainstormed complex decision-making processes to test users’ critical thinking abilities. Beyond educational mechanics, the group engaged in deep discussions regarding the fundamental requirements for a successful digital product: trust, privacy, accessibility, and intuitive usability. By documenting these ideas through structured design worksheets, the research team gathered a wealth of user-centered insights that will serve as the architectural blueprint for the project’s first application prototype.
Complementing the qualitative discussions, participants completed structured questionnaires designed to capture technical and design preferences regarding game mechanics and user interaction. These data points offer a clear roadmap for the developers, providing quantitative feedback on which gaming features are most effective at maintaining engagement while delivering educational value. Adhering to the highest standards of ethics and data protection, the research team ensures that all findings are used exclusively for the advancement of the project. This rigorous data collection process bridges the gap between abstract academic theory and practical software development, ensuring that the developers’ efforts align perfectly with the target audience’s expectations.
The project’s overarching methodology is as comprehensive as it is innovative, integrating scientific research with a multi-channel dissemination strategy that includes podcasts, interactive apps, and serious games. The core challenge for the team lies in achieving the “sweet spot” between entertainment and pedagogy—creating a user experience that is engaging enough to avoid being perceived as a dry lecture, yet robust enough to substantively improve health literacy. By prioritizing this balance, the project aims to foster long-term resilience against health misinformation, empowering users to make informed, evidence-based decisions rather than relying on viral and potentially harmful health myths.
Ultimately, this workshop serves as a testament to the CIVIS Open Lab’s philosophy, which champions the belief that the most effective societal solutions are those co-created by the academic community and the citizens they serve. The collaboration between the participating universities and the youth participants at The HOME Project sets a standard for future interdisciplinary projects. As the team moves into the next phase of development, the insights harvested from this workshop will be instrumental in finalizing the mobile application and serious game. These forthcoming tools are set to represent a major advancement in digital health, aiming to transform how society perceives, processes, and shares medical information in an increasingly digital world.
