Navigating Vaccine Misinformation: Assessing Newly Licensed Physicians' Ability to Distinguish Facts from Fake News.

Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland) Pub Date : 2025-06-10 DOI:10.3390/epidemiologia6020027

Elena Maria Ticozzi, Giovanni Gaetti, Luca Gambolò, Dario Bottignole, Pasquale Di Fronzo, Daniele Solla, Giuseppe Stirparo

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Abstract

Background: Newly licensed physicians play a significant role in healthcare systems. However, they often lack knowledge about vaccine practices. This study aims to evaluate their ability to distinguish between fake news and the actual side effects of vaccines.

Methods: We distributed a questionnaire to assess newly licensed physicians' knowledge of side effects of vaccines and widespread fake news about them. We enrolled 317 newly licensed Italian physicians.

Results: The average questionnaire score was 6.21/10 (SD = ±1.25). Work experience and age did not correlate with scores.

Conclusions: Many participants were not able to distinguish between fake news and real vaccines' side effects (e.g., the possible association between varicella vaccine and seizures). Furthermore, many physicians have been shown to believe in fake news. This lack of knowledge could lead to the inability to scientifically respond to anti-vaccinationists, thus increasing mistrust in medical counseling. Addressing knowledge gaps among recently licensed physicians is crucial to improving proper counseling and increasing public adherence to vaccination campaigns.

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导航疫苗错误信息：评估新执照医生区分事实和假新闻的能力。

背景：新获得执照的医生在医疗保健系统中发挥着重要作用。然而，他们往往缺乏疫苗实践方面的知识。这项研究旨在评估他们区分假新闻和疫苗实际副作用的能力。方法：我们发放了一份调查问卷，以评估新执业医师对疫苗副作用的了解程度和普遍存在的假新闻。我们招募了317名新获得执照的意大利医生。结果：问卷平均得分为6.21/10 （SD =±1.25）。工作经验和年龄与得分无关。结论：许多参与者无法区分假新闻和真实疫苗的副作用（例如，水痘疫苗和癫痫发作之间可能存在的关联）。此外，许多医生被证明相信假新闻。这种知识的缺乏可能导致无法科学地回应反对接种疫苗的人，从而增加了对医疗咨询的不信任。解决新近获得执照的医生之间的知识差距对于改进适当的咨询和提高公众对疫苗接种运动的依从性至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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