Effects of Health Literacy in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Infodemic: The Case of Japan

Cheng, John W.; Nishikawa, Masaru

doi:10.1080/10410236.2022.2065745

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Most health hoaxes are manufactured, i.e., created from scratch, rather than being manipulated or reconfigured from real elements. In this sense, it is necessary to aim to improve public education regarding healthcare, such that health literacy itself will become the main defensive and critical tool available to citizens [41][42][43][44]. Both digital literacy and health literacy should be essential in Spain's public health policies for the coming years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fake News in the Post-COVID-19 Era? The Health Disinformation Agenda in Spain

Costa-Sánchez,

Vizoso,

López-García

2023

Societies

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Three years after a pandemic that demonstrated the importance of reliable health information in a news agenda dominated by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we analyze the situation of health disinformation in Spain on the basis of the verifications carried out by its main fact-checking platforms. The results show that COVID-19 shared center stage with other topics in the health area. In addition, a unique agenda is evident in each situation in the study, indicating a fact-checking strategy that is differentiated according to the media outlet and type of specialization (generalist fact-checker or one specialized in health). Vaccination, nutrition, and disease treatment emerge as the most important thematic subfields. Most health hoaxes are manufactured, i.e., created from scratch, rather than being manipulated or reconfigured from real preexisting elements. The format of text and image together predominates, and new social networks (TikTok or Telegram) have appeared as platforms for the circulation of hoaxes. This indicates that providing necessary health literacy to society and giving health issues greater presence in current fact-checking agendas are strategies for combatting disinformation, which can have serious consequences, regardless of whether there is a public health crisis such as the one experienced recently.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fake News in the Post-COVID-19 Era? The Health Disinformation Agenda in Spain

Costa-Sánchez,

Vizoso,

López-García

2023

Societies

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show abstract

“…When students access misinformation or false information and have difficulty making judgments about the veracity of the information, they are unlikely to identify that information as “fake news”, and this may prevent engagement in effective health behaviors. These findings suggest the need to implement health education measures to strengthen students’ HL skills [ 77 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Literacy, Misinformation, Self-Perceived Risk and Fear, and Preventive Measures Related to COVID-19 in Spanish University Students

Bas-Sarmiento

Lamas-Toranzo

Fernández-Gutiérrez

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The “infodemic” is one of the main obstacles in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to face it, health literacy (HL) is essential since it allows for knowledge about COVID-19 and the practice of preventive measures to be fostered. This is especially relevant in university students due to their idiosyncrasy. This study aims to evaluate the level of HL related to COVID-19 (HLC), risk perception, misinformation, and the attitudes and behaviors adopted to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Spanish university students. An online questionnaire was administered to 499 Spanish university students. The HLC index presented a mean of 33.89 out of 50; a total of 63.8% had an inadequate level of HLC. They practiced a mean of 7.54 out of 9 preventive behaviors, and the mean knowledge score was 10.40 out of 13. The HLC showed significantly different scores for the degree, the practice of preventive measures, and some sources of information. The level of HL correlates with the adoption of preventive measures. The higher the severity and perceived susceptibility, the more preventive measures are taken by the students. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the HL skills of university students and address the dissemination of misinformation. Although caution should be taken when generalizing these results due to the limitations inherent within a cross-sectional study and the convenience sampling, our results can guide the establishment of health education strategies and policies for the management of the infodemic in pandemic situations, according to this target population.

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“…Media consumption preferences have also been linked to susceptibility to misinformation [94]. A Japan-based study reported that individuals who consume information primarily through social media are prone to possessing lower levels of health literacy and a greater inclination to believe in misinformation and conspiracy theories [95]. Other studies from Japan during the pandemic have drawn attention to the role of social media in encouraging unscientific behaviors related to SARS-CoV-2, such as eating fermented soybeans as protection from infection.…”

Section: Vaccine Hesitancy and Susceptibility To Sars-cov-2 Misinform...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaccine Hesitancy and Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Misinformation in Japanese Youth: The Contribution of Personality Traits and National Identity

Rivers,

Unser-Schutz,

Rudolph

2023

IJERPH

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During the pandemic, the Japanese government drew upon the cultural concept of jishuku, or personal self-constraint, requesting that individuals accept responsibility for their behaviors and consider minimizing the potential negative impact on others. While the jishuku approach to pandemic management rests upon the established and persuasive influence of cultural norms, variability in adherence can be expected according to age. This article documents an investigation into factors impacting vaccine hesitancy and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation among Japanese youth. The point of departure is the belief that attitudes and behaviors, such as those underpinning the jishuku approach to pandemic management, arise from within a relational framework. Therefore, developmental characteristics, such as personality traits, and in-group affinity attachments, such as facets of national identity, can be expected to function as predictors of health attitudes and behaviors. The tested structural model of hypothesized interactions accounted for 14% of the observed variance in vaccine hesitancy and 20% in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation. With the inclusion of gender, political ideology, and trust in government SARS-CoV-2 response as control variables, the respecified model increased the amount of variance observed in vaccine hesitancy to 30% and to 25% in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation. The outcomes are discussed in relation to the communication of coherent public health discourse relative to personality traits and facets of national identity.

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Effects of Health Literacy in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Infodemic: The Case of Japan

Cited by 13 publications

References 68 publications

Fake News in the Post-COVID-19 Era? The Health Disinformation Agenda in Spain

Fake News in the Post-COVID-19 Era? The Health Disinformation Agenda in Spain

Health Literacy, Misinformation, Self-Perceived Risk and Fear, and Preventive Measures Related to COVID-19 in Spanish University Students

Vaccine Hesitancy and Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Misinformation in Japanese Youth: The Contribution of Personality Traits and National Identity

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