The Scientific Culture Unit of the General Council of Nursing of Spain

A Proposal to Counter Health Misinformation

Authors

  • Héctor Nafría Soria Instituto Español de Investigación Enfermera image/svg+xml , Instituto Español de Investigación Enfermera, Consejo General de Enfermería de España, España , University of Zaragoza image/svg+xml , Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, España
  • M.ª Guadalupe Fontán Vinagre Instituto Español de Investigación Enfermera image/svg+xml , Instituto Español de Investigación Enfermera, Consejo General de Enfermería de España, España
  • Pedro José Satústegui-Dordá University of Zaragoza image/svg+xml , Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, España

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2026.9829

Keywords:

misinformation, health literacy, information dissemination, nursing, social media, science communication

Abstract

Introduction: Health-related misinformation requires evidence-based institutional strategies that promote media and scientific literacy. In Spain, the Scientific Culture and Innovation Units (UCC+I) act as bridges between science and society. In this context, the General Council of Nursing (CGE), through its Spanish Institute of Nursing Research (IE), established its UCC+I to strengthen scientific culture and improve health communication. Objectives: To evaluate the reach of the UCC+I’s outreach activities during its first seven months. Methodology: Descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study. Twenty-three reports of results and 36 outreach pieces were analysed. Indicators: website visits, downloads, views and interactions on YouTube and Instagram, press releases and media coverage. Results: 23 communications were issued; 47.8% originated from the Spanish Institute for Nursing Research. Six publications included video (average 368 views) and eight technical documents exceeded 54,000 downloads. In terms of outreach, 36 pieces were recorded, with Take Care with Your Nurse standing out (41.7%). Conclusion: The combination of highly engaging content, audiovisual formats and press releases enhances the scientific and social visibility of the UCC+I at the CGE. It is recommended that its sustainability and monitoring be strengthened through periodic evaluations and impact indicators.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bastian, M., Heymann, S., & Jacomy, M. (2009). Gephi: An open source software for exploring and manipulating networks. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, 3(1), 361–362.

Blondel, V. D., Guillaume, J.-L., Lambiotte, R., & Lefebvre, E. (2008). Fast unfolding of communities in large networks. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2008(10), P10008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2008/10/P10008.

Campos, G. W. S. (2007). Um método para análise e co-gestão de coletivos [A method for the analysis and co-management of collectives] (3rd ed.). Hucitec.

Castells, M. (2015). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the Internet age (2nd ed.). Polity Press. (Original work published 2012)

Chinazzo Müller, L. (2024a). Socialidade e desinformação: Análise de imaginários sobre as vacinas contra a Covid-19 no X (antigo Twitter) [Sociality and disinformation: Analysis of imaginaries about Covid-19 vaccines on X (formerly Twitter)] [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul.

Chinazzo Müller, L. (2024b). Vitória da ciência e da saúde pública sobre a desinformação: Análise de imaginários no X (antigo Twitter) no início da vacinação contra a Covid-19 [Victory of science and public health over disinformation: Analysis of imaginaries on X at the beginning of Covid-19 vaccination]. Mídia e Cotidiano, 19(1), 131–141.

Fagá, I. V., Cyrino, A. P. P., & Teixeira, M. C. S. (2025). Implicações da infodemia de COVID-19 para a comunicação e divulgação científica. Revista Española de Comunicación en Salud, 16, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2025.11142.

Fallis, D. (2011). Floridi on disinformation. Etica & Politica / Ethics & Politics, 2, 201–214.

Gillespie, T. (2010). The politics of “platforms.” New Media & Society, 12(3), 347–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444809342738.

Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable media: Creating value and meaning in a networked culture. NYU Press.

Morejón-Llamas, N. (2023). Características y ejes discursivos de la desinformación y el proceso de fact-checking sobre las vacunas COVID-19 en Latinoamérica. Revista Española de Comunicación en Salud, 14(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2023.7819.

Paim, J. S. (2018). Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) aos 30 anos [The Unified Health System at 30 years]. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 23(6), 1723–1728. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018236.09172018.

Pan American Health Organization. (2020). Understanding the infodemic and misinformation in the fight against COVID-19. https://bit.ly/49wTESp.

Pariser, E. (2011). The filter bubble: What the Internet is hiding from you. Penguin Press.

Pasternak, N. (Ed.). (2025). VacinaBR yearbook 2025: Statistical report on vaccination in Brazil [E-book]. Instituto Questão de Ciência.

Przeworski, A., & Teune, H. (1970). The logic of comparative social inquiry. Wiley-Interscience.

Quandt, T. (2018). Dark participation. Media and Communication, 6(4), 36–48. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v6i4.1519.

Recuero, R. (2024). A rede da desinformação: Sistemas, estruturas e dinâmicas nas plataformas de mídias sociais [The disinformation network: Systems, structures and dynamics on social media platforms]. Sulina.

Schiavon, J., & Barcellos, C. (2021). Comunicação, emoção e ciência: Estratégias para promover a confiança pública na pandemia [Communication, emotion and science: Strategies to promote public trust during the pandemic]. Interface – Comunicação, Saúde, Educação, 25, e210129. https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.210129.

Shirky, C. (2009). Here comes everybody: The power of organizing without organizations. Penguin Books.

Van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & De Waal, M. (2018). The platform society: Public values in a connective world. Oxford University Press.

Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making. Council of Europe.

Downloads

Published

2026-07-29
Metrics
Views/Downloads
  • Abstract
    99
  • PDF
    30

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026)

Section

Originals

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Héctor Nafría Soria, M.ª Guadalupe Fontán Vinagre, Pedro José Satústegui-Dordá

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.

All articles published in this journal –unless otherwise stated- are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerives (CC-BY-ND 3.0 ES) Spain 3.0 License, which allows others to copy, distribute and transmit in a public way as long as they credit the author(s), journal and institution that publish these articles, and provided that they are not altered or modified. The complete license can be consulted in: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/deed/.es

The copyright belongs to the manuscript’s author just on the basis of creating this work:

  • Moral rights are undeniable and inalienable.
  • Economic or exploitation rights can be transferred to third parties, as it occurs  when articles are published and authors partially or totally transfer their exploitation rights to publishers

Authors can archive their own articles in an institutional repository as long as their publications are cited in this journal.

How to Cite

Nafría Soria, H., Fontan Vinagre, M. G., & Satústegui-Dordá, P. J. (2026). The Scientific Culture Unit of the General Council of Nursing of Spain: A Proposal to Counter Health Misinformation. Revista Española De Comunicación En Salud, 17(2), 22-37. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2026.9829