Public Health and Online Misinformation: Challenges and Recommendations.

Public Health and Online Misinformation: Challenges and Recommendations. Annu Rev Public Health. 2019 Dec 24;: Authors: Swire-Thompson B, Lazer D Abstract The internet has become a popular resource to learn about health and to investigate one's own health condition. However, given the large amount of inaccurate information online, people can easily become misinformed. Individuals have always obtained information from outside the formal health care system, so how has the internet changed people's engagement with health information? This review explores how individuals interact with health misinformation online, whether it be through search, user-generated content, or mobile apps. We discuss whether personal access to information is helping or hindering health outcomes and how the perceived trustworthiness of the institutions communicating health has changed over time. To conclude, we propose several constructive strategies for improving the online information ecosystem. Misinformation concerning health has particularly severe consequences with regard to people's quality of life and even their risk of mortality; therefore, understanding it within today's modern context is an extremely important task. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 41 is April 1, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates. PMID: 31874069 [PubMed - as supplied by...
Source: Annual Review of Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Annu Rev Public Health Source Type: research