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

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.

The Experience of Health Professionals With Misinformation and Its Impact on Their Job Practice: Qualitative Interview Study.

BACKGROUND: Misinformation is often disseminated through social media, where information is spread rapidly and easily. Misinformation affects many patients' decisions to follow a treatment prescribed by health professionals (HPs). For example, chronic patients (eg, those with diabetes) may not follow their prescribed treatment plans. During the recent pandemic, misinformed people rejected COVID-19 vaccines and public health measures, such as masking and physical distancing, and used unproven treatments. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the impact of health-threatening misinformation on the practices of health care professionals in the United Kingdom, especially during the outbreaks of diseases where a great amount of health-threatening misinformation is produced and released. The study examined the misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak to determine how it may have impacted practitioners' perceptions of misinformation and how that may have influenced their practice. In particular, this study explored the answers to the following questions: How do HPs react when they learn that a patient has been misinformed? What misinformation do they believe has the greatest impact on medical practice? What aspects of change and intervention in HPs' practice are in response to misinformation? METHODS: This research followed a qualitative approach to collect rich data from a smaller subset of health care practitioners working in the United Kingdom. Data were collected through 1-to-1 online interviews with 13 health practitioners, including junior and senior physicians and nurses in the United Kingdom. RESULTS: Research findings indicated that HPs view misinformation in different ways according to the scenario in which it occurs. Some HPs consider it to be an acute incident exacerbated by the pandemic, while others see it as an ongoing phenomenon (always present) and address it as part of their daily work. HPs are developing pathways for dealing with misinformation. Two main pathways were identified: first, to educate the patient through coaching, advising, or patronizing and, second, to devote resources, such as time and effort, to facilitate 2-way communication between the patient and the health care provider through listening and talking to them. CONCLUSIONS: HPs do not receive the confidence they deserve from patients. The lack of trust in health care practitioners has been attributed to several factors, including (1) trusting alternative sources of information (eg, social media) (2) patients' doubts about HPs' experience (eg, a junior doctor with limited experience), and (3) limited time and availability for patients, especially during the pandemic. There are 2 dimensions of trust: patient-HP trust and patient-information trust. There are 2 necessary actions to address the issue of lack of trust in these dimensions: (1) building trust and (2) maintaining trust. The main recommendations of the HPs are to listen to patients, give them more time, and seek evidence-based resources.