April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Trust in Doctors, Social Support, and Belief in COVID-19 Misinformation: Variation in Associations by Race and Ethnicity
Misinformation has emerged as a major concern for public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much research has focused on the prevalence and impact of health misinformation, mechanisms of susceptibility to its influence, contributions of various media sources, social media in particular, to the infodemic, as well as different methods to prevent acceptance and mitigate harms. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the nature of relationships in which misinformation and accurate health information are shared and how social captical is related to belief in COVID-19 misinformation.
This study investigates the role of social support and trust in doctors in public endorsement of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study conceptualizes trust in doctors and social support from the lens of social capital theory and suggests that relationship-based mechanisms may shield individuals against health misinformation. The extent of protection, however, may vary across racial and ethnic communities as access to social capital and the burden of health misinformation are unevenly distributed in society.
A nationally representative survey using the AmeriSpeak panel was fielded in October and November 2021 (N = 6,515). Respondents were asked about two commonly held misperceptions about COVID -19 (i.e., the pandemic is a scheme; the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe because it came out too fast). Respondents also reported their levels of trust in physicians and the amount of social support they had received from close, interpersonal sources and more distant, communal sources during the pandemic. A series of logistic regression analyses were conducted for each misinformation item to estimate the relationships between misinformation endorsement on one hand and trust and social support on the other. The models were estimated first for the full sample and then for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic respondents separately.
The findings paint a complex picture regarding the role of social ties and resources embedded in them in protecting individuals and communities against health misinformation during COVID-19. In the full sample analysis, trust in doctors and social support from both sources were negatively associated with misinformation endorsement (all p < .001). However, this pattern did not consistently hold in subgroup analyses. Trust in doctors was negatively associated with misinformation endorsement for all groups (p < .05). Social support, however, exhibited varied associations depending on both source of social support and race and ethnicity. In particular, neither source of social support was significantly associated with vaccine-related misinformation among non-Hispanic Blacks (p > .05) and only social support from communal sources was negatively associated with belief in COVID-19 as a scheme (p = .039). Our findings confirm that trust in doctors is an important protective factor against COVID-19 misinformation. The role of social support, however, is more nuanced and warrants continued research attention that takes into account both sources of support and the demographic, social, and historical background of the communities involved.
This study investigates the role of social support and trust in doctors in public endorsement of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study conceptualizes trust in doctors and social support from the lens of social capital theory and suggests that relationship-based mechanisms may shield individuals against health misinformation. The extent of protection, however, may vary across racial and ethnic communities as access to social capital and the burden of health misinformation are unevenly distributed in society.
A nationally representative survey using the AmeriSpeak panel was fielded in October and November 2021 (N = 6,515). Respondents were asked about two commonly held misperceptions about COVID -19 (i.e., the pandemic is a scheme; the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe because it came out too fast). Respondents also reported their levels of trust in physicians and the amount of social support they had received from close, interpersonal sources and more distant, communal sources during the pandemic. A series of logistic regression analyses were conducted for each misinformation item to estimate the relationships between misinformation endorsement on one hand and trust and social support on the other. The models were estimated first for the full sample and then for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic respondents separately.
The findings paint a complex picture regarding the role of social ties and resources embedded in them in protecting individuals and communities against health misinformation during COVID-19. In the full sample analysis, trust in doctors and social support from both sources were negatively associated with misinformation endorsement (all p < .001). However, this pattern did not consistently hold in subgroup analyses. Trust in doctors was negatively associated with misinformation endorsement for all groups (p < .05). Social support, however, exhibited varied associations depending on both source of social support and race and ethnicity. In particular, neither source of social support was significantly associated with vaccine-related misinformation among non-Hispanic Blacks (p > .05) and only social support from communal sources was negatively associated with belief in COVID-19 as a scheme (p = .039). Our findings confirm that trust in doctors is an important protective factor against COVID-19 misinformation. The role of social support, however, is more nuanced and warrants continued research attention that takes into account both sources of support and the demographic, social, and historical background of the communities involved.