The Ask for Evidence campaign is something I am so incredibly passionate about. We’ve all seen how important it is to have valid evidence when making claims - particularly in the current climate. When I became an Ask for Evidence ambassador I was over the moon, however I was initially unsure how the campaign would be received in my home on the Isle of Man. Many members of the public have not come across the campaign before, but once I explained were receptive and wanted to find out more about how to get involved. My goal from the beginning as an ambassador was to introduce as many people as possible to the message behind the campaign, if you want to know whether something you’ve seen or read is reliable, you can Ask for Evidence.
The Isle of Man is home to roughly 83,000 peopleSo, how did I achieve this? Well I have to be completely honest here, I talked about it A LOT to pretty much everyone I came into contact with. Just by starting those conversations by asking if they’d heard of the campaign was a step in the right direction.
I’ve learnt that in a place like our island (and other places that have a great close-knit community), one of the best ways to have these conversations is by relating the campaign to local topics such as the safety of the HPV vaccine, where conversations about what good evidence looks like and how or where to find it are important. Talking about the impact of good quality evidence on our environment and population touches the hearts of many, and starts those internal and external conversations. People on the island are very in tune with local issues and want to create a safer, thriving and happy environment.
So far being part of Ask for Evidence has been a great educational journey and I can’t to get into the next phase on the Isle of Man.
A postgraduate research student specialising in parasitology, molecular microbiology and public health and currently the Research and Development Manager within the Department of Health and Social Care, Isle of Man. Haafizah became an Ask for Evidence ambassador because she thinks it's important to get people thinking about the information they are given, particularly in health care.
