Health Care Providers Can Help Combat Harmful Misinformation About the Pandemic

Sturgill, Amanda

doi:10.18043/ncm.82.1.68

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Sturgill 20 provides an excellent summary of the fraught information environment patients encounter. Many patients may have difficulty navigating the sheer volume of health-related information due to poor health literacy, but this online landscape is complicated by biased search algorithms, confirmation bias, politics, and intentional spread of disinformation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many patients may have difficulty navigating the sheer volume of health-related information due to poor health literacy, but this online landscape is complicated by biased search algorithms, confirmation bias, politics, and intentional spread of disinformation. As Trethewey et al and Sturgill 19 , 20 have both noted, health care practitioners have the unique opportunity to direct patients to high quality, evidence-based medical information. Wu and McCormick 21 write that practitioners have a professional obligation to correct patient-held MM due to the combination of scientific training and licensure to practice medicine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 In addition to peer-reviewed literature, we can point to anecdotal reports and small sample studies of practitioner concern about MM, and encouragement for health care professionals to engage with patients on this topic now appears in a variety of sources. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Despite this attention to MM, we have been unable to find sufficient population-level evidence of how often medical practitioners encounter MM directly from patients in while clinical settings. We also do not know the extent to which clinicians have received training to engage patients in conversations regarding misinformation, such as lectures, webinars, workshops, or informal advice from mentors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Pilot Study of Medical Misinformation Perceptions and Training Among Practitioners in North Carolina (USA)

Wood

Lee²,

Stinnett

et al. 2021

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Medical misinformation (MM) is a problem for both medical practitioners and patients in the 21st century. Medical practitioners have anecdotally reported encounters with patient-held misinformation, but to date we lack evidence that quantifies this phenomenon. We surveyed licensed practitioners in the state of North Carolina to better understand how often patients mention MM in the clinical setting, and if medical practitioners are trained to engage with patients in these specific conversations. We administered an anonymous, online survey to physicians and physician assistants licensed to practice in the state of North Carolina. Questions focused on demographics, clinical encounters with MM, and training to discuss MM with patients. We received over 2800 responses and analyzed 2183 after removing ineligible responses. Our results showed that most respondents encountered MM from patients (94.2% (2047/2183)), with no significant differences between clinical specialty, time spent in practice, or community type. When asked about specific training, 18% (380/2081) reported formal experiences and 39% (807/289) reported informal experiences. MM has been salient due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, it was present before and will remain after the pandemic. Given that MM is widespread but practitioners lack training on engaging patients in these conversations, a sustained effort to specifically train current and future practitioners on how to engage patients about MM would be an important step toward mitigating the spread of MM.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Pilot Study of Medical Misinformation Perceptions and Training Among Practitioners in North Carolina (USA)

Wood

Lee²,

Stinnett

et al. 2021

INQUIRY

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Again, algorithmic correction can be used to dispel people’s misconceptions ( 8 ). Further research suggests that relying on physicians ( 9 ), experts ( 3 ), health agencies ( 8 ), and relevant authorities ( 10 ) to correct health misinformation in order to prevent backfire effects could results better.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaming with health misinformation: a social capital-based study of corrective information sharing factors in social media

Feng

2024

Front. Public Health

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Correction is an important tool to reduce the negative impact of health misinformation on social media. In the era of “I share, therefore I am” social media, users actively share corrective information to achieve the “anti-convincing” effect of health misinformation. Focusing on the local Chinese context, this study constructs a structural equation model using social capital as a mediating variable to explore whether usage of Chinese users’ social media can promote corrective information sharing by influencing the structural, cognitive, and relational dimensions of social capital and the role of health literacy in corrective information sharing. It was found that social media use did not significantly affect corrective information share willingness but significantly influenced share willingness through social interaction connections, trust, and shared experiences, and share willingness significantly influenced sharing behavior. The moderating effect showed that health literacy played a significant moderating effect in the influence of corrective information share willingness on sharing behavior. This study introduces the three dimensions of social capital at the theoretical level and finds that users will share corrective information for the purpose of social capital accumulation. It also provides empirical evidence for specific practices, including improving users’ health literacy and actively mobilizing them to participate in the blocking and management of health misinformation in social media.

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To What Extent Have Conspiracy Theories Undermined COVID-19: Strategic Narratives?

et al. 2021

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Health Care Providers Can Help Combat Harmful Misinformation About the Pandemic

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

A Pilot Study of Medical Misinformation Perceptions and Training Among Practitioners in North Carolina (USA)

A Pilot Study of Medical Misinformation Perceptions and Training Among Practitioners in North Carolina (USA)

Gaming with health misinformation: a social capital-based study of corrective information sharing factors in social media

To What Extent Have Conspiracy Theories Undermined COVID-19: Strategic Narratives?

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