Health-Related Infodemic Perception among Nursing and Non-Nursing Students: A Comparative Study

Abstract

: Background : Increasing digitalization allows for faster information dissemination and infodemic. An efficient public health response can be hampered by infodemics, which also cause misunderstanding and mistrust among people. Hence, the current study aimed to compare nursing and non-nursing students regarding health-related infodemic perception. Subjects & Methods: Design: Comparative cross-sectional descriptive research design was used where 820 students were randomly enrolled from the faculty of nursing and faculty of arts. Tools: (1) Socio-demographic characteristics; (2) Questionnaire to assess students’ knowledge, attitude, and the role of social media in spreading health-related infodemic; and (3) Arabic version of Electronic Health Literacy Scale. Results: Only 26% of students were familiar with the concept of health-related infodemic. Social media platforms like Facebook (79.5%) and YouTube (46.3%) played a significant role in the dissemination of false and misleading health information. Both nursing (59%) and non-nursing (57.6%) students were aware of the topic of health-related infodemic. Nursing students scored lower on e-health literacy (77.3%). Ultimately, a plethora of nursing (82.7%) and non-nursing (81.2%) students had negative attitudes regarding health-related infodemic. Conclusion: Both nursing and non-nursing students showed unfavorable attitudes toward the health information epidemic. Nursing students knew more about health-related infodemics, despite having lower e-health literacy scores than non-nursing students. As students become more knowledgeable and literate about health-related infodemic, they consequently develop a negative attitude toward it. Recommendations: Governments must build resilience to misinformation and engage and empower communities to take positive actions particularly during outbreaks to control infodemics and safeguard the public's health.