HealthWise
Description
Health misinformation is a growing public health challenge. Misleading claims about fad diets, dietary supplements, extreme exercise regimens, sleep products and mental health strategies can spread rapidly, making it difficult for people to distinguish credible health advice from unsupported information.
Exposure to inaccurate or misleading health information can lead to inappropriate health decisions, unnecessary expenditure and potential harm—particularly for people living with chronic conditions or complex health needs. Health misinformation can also undermine public confidence in healthcare professionals and credible scientific evidence.
The HealthWise Research Group brings together researchers with expertise in nutrition, physical activity, sleep, mental health, behavioural science, chronic disease and biostatistics. The group investigates how health misinformation is created, communicated, believed and shared, and how it influences individual and community health behaviours.
HealthWise develops, evaluates and translates evidence-based strategies to improve health literacy and support informed decision-making. These activities include educational interventions, digital health tools, online health coaching, tailored learning resources, misinformation-busting forums and accessible articles that translate complex scientific evidence for the public.
Through collaboration with communities, healthcare professionals, researchers and industry partners, HealthWise aims to ensure that reliable health information is understandable, accessible and relevant to diverse populations.
Impact
HealthWise aims to reduce the personal, community and health-system impacts of health misinformation by improving access to credible and understandable health information.
The group’s research supports people to critically evaluate health claims, identify trustworthy sources and make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing. By translating scientific evidence into practical resources, HealthWise seeks to improve health literacy, encourage evidence-based lifestyle choices and strengthen public trust in credible health research.
The group has a particular interest in reaching regional, rural and other communities that may experience barriers to accessing reliable health information. Its longer-term impact will be achieved through scalable educational resources, digital interventions, interdisciplinary research and partnerships that support the translation of evidence into policy, practice and public communication.
The multidisciplinary HealthWise team includes researchers across three complementary areas:
Nutrition, health literacy and chronic disease: A/Prof Saman Khalesi, Dr Anna Balzer, Dr Chris Irwin, Dr Lisa Vincze, Dr Ingrid Wise and PhD candidate Farhang Jafari.
Sleep, circadian health and workplace wellbeing: A/Prof Grace Vincent, Dr Charlotte Gupta and Dr Dean J. Miller.
Physical activity and behavioural interventions: A/Prof Saman Khalesi, Dr Stephanie Schoeppe, Dr Lisa Vincze and Dr Chris Irwin.
Partners
CQUniversity - Appleton Institute
- Griffith University
- Health Literacy and Equity Research Unit, University of Tasmania
- Centre for Kidney Disease Research, University of Queensland
- CQUniversity Physical Activity Research Group
- CQUniversity NeuroHealth Lab - part of the Appleton Institute
Associate Professor Saman Khalesi
Associate Professor Saman Khalesi (BS, MS, PhD) is Head of Course – Nutrition at CQUniversity and leads the HealthWise Research Group within the Appleton Institute. A former National Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, he has advanced cardiovascular health through innovative dietary, lifestyle and health literacy interventions.
He has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers, received more than 3,700 citations and achieved a Field-Weighted Citation Impact of 2.27. He has led or contributed to more than $1 million in external research. He is a member of the Queensland Cardiovascular Research Network, Nutrition Society of Australia Queensland and the Australian Council of Senior Academic Leaders in Digital Health. His contributions were recognised with the 2022 Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award. His research informs policy, strengthens health literacy and empowers people to make informed health decisions.
SDG Goals
At CQUniversity we are committed to embedding sustainable practice in our operations, interactions and relationships, underpinned by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability is one of our strategic pillars within our Strategic Plan 2019-2023.
This project aligns with the following SDG Goals:
- 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing: Improving health literacy and supporting evidence-based health decisions.
- 4 – Quality Education: Developing accessible educational resources and strengthening people's ability to understand and evaluate health information.
- 10 - Reduced Inequalities: Improving access to reliable health information for diverse, regional, rural and underserved communities.
- 17 - Partnership for the Goals: Bringing together researchers, communities, health professionals, government and industry to address health misinformation.
