The Canadian Medical Association is pleased to announce a new initiative to improve the media environment for health and health system information called Healthcare For Real.
It’s the start of a journey to support Canadians – especially young adults – with easy-to-understand context and conversation about the Canadian health care system via a new online hub and video storytelling on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Canadians are experiencing a systemic change in how they receive and interact with health information – and it’s having a real impact on our collective understanding of both the challenges in health care and how we can get from now to next.
At the CMA, we recognize the critical role journalism plays in advancing understanding, debate and policy decisions. Through CMA Media, we’re contributing directly to the quality and quantity of health system news and information. Our organization funds health care reporting through the Canadian Press. With the help of Canada’s doctors and the CMA Media Network, we’re also pushing back on health misinformation and amplifying trusted sources across platforms.
With the launch of Healthcare For Real, we’re going back to basics with answers to Canadians’ most asked questions about the health system on the channels they frequent most. Through videos and articles, we take complex topics and make them clear with expert help.
Healthcare For Real is also designed as a capacity-building experiment as our team tries new forms of storytelling and education via vertical videos especially. We’re collaborating with and learning from other health communicators in the system to enrich the Canadian health information environment together.
CMA believes by serving Canadians in this way we’re filling an important gap in our collective understanding of the health care system. It’s designed as a compliment to journalism and expert sources already driving change. We believe making sense of health care through context and conversation is a key step to finding solutions together.
Want more information on the Canadian Medical Association’s work to improve the health information ecosystem? Connect with us at [email protected]