Prevalence of Health Misinformation on Social Media-Challenges and Mitigation Before, During, and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Literature Review.

IF 3.5 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
JMIR infodemiology Pub Date : 2024-08-19 DOI:10.2196/38786
Dhouha Kbaier, Annemarie Kane, Mark McJury, Ian Kenny
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: This scoping review accompanies our research study "The Experience of Health Professionals With Misinformation and Its Impact on Their Job Practice: Qualitative Interview Study." It surveys online health misinformation and is intended to provide an understanding of the communication context in which health professionals must operate.

Objective: Our objective was to illustrate the impact of social media in introducing additional sources of misinformation that impact health practitioners' ability to communicate effectively with their patients. In addition, we considered how the level of knowledge of practitioners mitigated the effect of misinformation and additional stress factors associated with dealing with outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that affect communication with patients.

Methods: This study used a 5-step scoping review methodology following Arksey and O'Malley's methodology to map relevant literature published in English between January 2012 and March 2024, focusing on health misinformation on social media platforms. We defined health misinformation as a false or misleading health-related claim that is not based on valid evidence or scientific knowledge. Electronic searches were performed on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. We included studies on the extent and impact of health misinformation in social media, mitigation strategies, and health practitioners' experiences of confronting health misinformation. Our independent reviewers identified relevant articles for data extraction.

Results: Our review synthesized findings from 70 sources on online health misinformation. It revealed a consensus regarding the significant problem of health misinformation disseminated on social network platforms. While users seek trustworthy sources of health information, they often lack adequate health and digital literacies, which is exacerbated by social and economic inequalities. Cultural contexts influence the reception of such misinformation, and health practitioners may be vulnerable, too. The effectiveness of online mitigation strategies like user correction and automatic detection are complicated by malicious actors and politicization. The role of health practitioners in this context is a challenging one. Although they are still best placed to combat health misinformation, this review identified stressors that create barriers to their abilities to do this well. Investment in health information management at local and global levels could enhance their capacity for effective communication with patients.

Conclusions: This scoping review underscores the significance of addressing online health misinformation, particularly in the postpandemic era. It highlights the necessity for a collaborative global interdisciplinary effort to ensure equitable access to accurate health information, thereby empowering health practitioners to effectively combat the impact of online health misinformation. Academic research will need to be disseminated into the public domain in a way that is accessible to the public. Without equipping populations with health and digital literacies, the prevalence of online health misinformation will continue to pose a threat to global public health efforts.

社交媒体上健康错误信息的流行:在COVID-19大流行之前、期间和之后的挑战和缓解措施:系统回顾(预印本)
背景:本范围界定审查与我们的研究 "卫生专业人员对错误信息的体验及其对工作实践的影响:定性访谈研究"。它调查了网上的健康误导信息,旨在让人们了解卫生专业人员必须在其中工作的交流环境:我们的目标是说明社交媒体在引入更多错误信息来源方面的影响,这些错误信息影响了医疗从业人员与患者进行有效沟通的能力。此外,我们还考虑了从业人员的知识水平如何减轻错误信息的影响,以及在应对 COVID-19 大流行等疫情时影响与患者沟通的额外压力因素:本研究按照 Arksey 和 O'Malley 的方法,采用五步范围综述法,对 2012 年 1 月至 2024 年 3 月间发表的相关英文文献进行了梳理,重点关注社交媒体平台上的健康误导信息。我们将健康误导信息定义为与健康相关的虚假或误导性声明,其并非基于有效证据或科学知识。我们在 PubMed、Scopus、Web of Science 和 Google Scholar 上进行了电子检索。我们纳入了有关社交媒体中健康误导信息的程度和影响、缓解策略以及医疗从业人员面对健康误导信息的经验的研究。我们的独立审稿人对相关文章进行了数据提取:我们的综述综合了 70 篇关于网络健康误导信息的研究成果。结果:我们的综述综合了 70 篇关于网络健康误导信息的研究成果,发现了社交网络平台上传播健康误导信息这一重大问题的共识。虽然用户寻求值得信赖的健康信息来源,但他们往往缺乏足够的健康和数字素养,而社会和经济的不平等又加剧了这一问题。文化背景影响着人们对此类错误信息的接受,医疗从业人员也可能容易受到影响。由于恶意行为者和政治化,用户纠正和自动检测等在线缓解策略的有效性变得更加复杂。在这种情况下,医疗从业者的角色具有挑战性。尽管他们仍然是打击健康误导信息的最佳人选,但本次审查发现了一些压力因素,这些因素阻碍了他们做好这项工作的能力。在地方和全球层面对健康信息管理进行投资,可以提高他们与患者进行有效沟通的能力:本次范围界定审查强调了解决在线健康误导信息的重要性,尤其是在疫情流行后的时代。它强调了全球跨学科合作的必要性,以确保公平获取准确的健康信息,从而增强医疗从业人员的能力,有效消除网络健康误导信息的影响。学术研究需要以公众可获得的方式传播到公共领域。如果不为民众提供健康和数字扫盲,网上健康误导信息的泛滥将继续对全球公共卫生工作构成威胁。
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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