While many people think that information is wrong on Facebook and Twitter from time to time, people with lower levels of education or health literacy, a tendency to use other medications or trust in the health care system more likely to believe erroneous medical posts than others, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
“Accurate information is a barrier to good health care because it can discourage people from taking precautions to prevent illness and make them reluctant to seek care when they become ill,” he said. lead author Laura D. Scherer, PhD, with the University of Colorado School of Medicine. ”Identifying who is more prone to misinformation could provide a great deal of insight into how such information is disseminated and disseminated. giving us new avenues for intervention. “
In the study, published in the journal Health Psychology, researchers surveyed 1,020 people in the U.S. between the ages of 40 and 80 about the certainty of 24 recent Facebook and Twitter posts on HPV vaccines, statin medications and cancer treatment. Researchers shared the same number of true and false positives with participants for all three medical cases. False claims included claiming that red yeast rice is more effective at lowering cholesterol than statins, that marijuana, ginger and dandelion roots can cure cancer and that HPV vaccines are dangerous.
Participants were asked to assess whether the posts were completely false, mostly false, usually true or completely true. Researchers asked follow-up questions, including participants ’level of education, interest in alternative therapies, understanding of health care issues, income, and age.
Participants with lower levels of education and health literacy were more likely to believe the misinformation, the researchers found. Those with confidence in the health care system or who had positive attitudes toward other treatments also tended to believe that the three health topics were misinformed more often than others in the study. Also, participants who fell for misinformation on one health issue tended to be more prone to misinformation on the other two health issues.
The findings could help public health officials develop more targeted messages and referrals for a range of health care issues, according to the researchers.
“People who were prone to misinformation tended to be prone to the three types we showed them, about vaccines, statin medications and cancer treatment,” Scherer said. “One possible effect is that these people are prone to a wide range of health misinformation, making these decisions potentially relevant to other health care issues. as well as the ones we researched here. This information may influence other public information efforts, such as existing ones. has begun to address COVID-19. ”
However, more research is needed to fully understand how to prevent false information circles, Scherer said.
“We hope that researchers can build on these findings and develop new evidence-based interventions to reduce the impact and dissemination of false health information online. Measures such as this could lead to countless lives to save, “she said.
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Article: “Who is prone to online health misinformation? A test of four psychosocial assumptions,” by Laura D. Scherer, PhD, University of Colorado School of Medicine; Allison Kempe, MD, Larry A. Allen, MD, Christopher E. Knoepke, PhD, Channing E. Tate, MPH, and Daniel D. Matlock, MD, University of Colorado School of Medicine; Gordon Pennycook, PhD, University of Regina and Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Jon McPhetres, PhD, University of Regina. Health Psychology, published online February 25, 2021.
Contact: Laura D. Scherer, PhD, can be reached at [email protected].
The full text of the article can be found online at https: /
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