Prevalence and intervention strategies of health misinformation among older adults: A meta-analysis

The rapid expansion of the Internet and social media has intensified the spread of health misinformation, posing significant risks, especially for older adults. This meta-analysis synthesizes evidence on the prevalence and interventions of health misinformation among older adults. Our findings revea...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health psychology 2024-11, p.13591053241298362
Main Authors: Hu, Bo, Liu, Xinjie, Lu, Chang, Ju, Xingda
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The rapid expansion of the Internet and social media has intensified the spread of health misinformation, posing significant risks, especially for older adults. This meta-analysis synthesizes evidence on the prevalence and interventions of health misinformation among older adults. Our findings reveal a high prevalence rate of 47% (95% CI [33%, 60%]), surpassing recent estimates. Offline research settings have a higher prevalence of health misinformation. Despite methodological variances, the prevalence remains consistent across different measures and development levels. Interventions show significant effectiveness (Hedges'  = 0.76, 95% CI [0.25, 1.26]), with graphic-based approaches outperforming video-based ones. These results underscore the urgent need for tailored, large-scale interventions to mitigate the adverse impacts of health misinformation on older adults. Further research should focus on refining intervention strategies and extending studies to underrepresented regions and populations.
ISSN:1461-7277
1461-7277
DOI:10.1177/13591053241298362