{"title":"Digital misinformation and parental resistance to newborn heel-prick screening: an Instagram content analysis.","authors":"Arzu Kul Uçtu, Rabia Ceren Buyrukoğlu","doi":"10.1080/00365513.2026.2692692","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This qualitative study examines 260 Instagram posts from prominent Turkish Instagram accounts that oppose newborn heel-prick screening. Using ethnographic content analysis, four main themes emerged: mistrust of medical science, reliance on alternative beliefs, conspiracy theories, and solidarity among parents. Common concerns included distrust of health authorities, perceived violations of bodily integrity, and preference for natural practices. Misconceptions ranged from fabricated illnesses to harmful effects on babies' energy. The findings highlight how social media spreads misinformation and collective opposition. The study recommends enhancing digital health literacy and engaging healthcare professionals on social media to promote newborn screening acceptance.</p>","PeriodicalId":21474,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Clinical & Laboratory Investigation","volume":" ","pages":"463-470"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Scandinavian Journal of Clinical & Laboratory Investigation","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00365513.2026.2692692","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/6/23 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This qualitative study examines 260 Instagram posts from prominent Turkish Instagram accounts that oppose newborn heel-prick screening. Using ethnographic content analysis, four main themes emerged: mistrust of medical science, reliance on alternative beliefs, conspiracy theories, and solidarity among parents. Common concerns included distrust of health authorities, perceived violations of bodily integrity, and preference for natural practices. Misconceptions ranged from fabricated illnesses to harmful effects on babies' energy. The findings highlight how social media spreads misinformation and collective opposition. The study recommends enhancing digital health literacy and engaging healthcare professionals on social media to promote newborn screening acceptance.
期刊介绍：
The Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation is an international scientific journal covering clinically oriented biochemical and physiological research. Since the launch of the journal in 1949, it has been a forum for international laboratory medicine, closely related to, and edited by, The Scandinavian Society for Clinical Chemistry.
The journal contains peer-reviewed articles, editorials, invited reviews, and short technical notes, as well as several supplements each year. Supplements consist of monographs, and symposium and congress reports covering subjects within clinical chemistry and clinical physiology.
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