Understanding the Effects of News-Finds-Me Perception on Health Knowledge and Information Seeking During Public Health Crises

Well-informed or misinformed? News-Finds-Me perception in shaping sexual and reproductive health knowledge and behavioral intentions among Chinese women

The News-Finds-Me (NFM) perception reflects individuals' belief of being well-informed even without actively seeking out news on social media. Despite studies examining the NFM perception in political and COVID-19 contexts, its implications in specific health contexts and the underlying mechanisms toward behavioral outcomes remain largely unexplored. Through a nationwide online survey of Chinese women residing in both rural and urban areas, this study revealed a positive association between the NFM perception and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) misperceptions, as well as an overassessment of factual knowledge. Furthermore, this study identified the mediating roles of knowledge miscalibration and SRH misperceptions linking the NFM perception to SRH behavioral intention. Notably, the relationship between the NFM perception and knowledge miscalibration was contingent upon individual differences in optimism regarding personal risks related to SRH diseases. The findings of this study not only extend the negative implications of the NFM perception in the SRH context and behavioral outcomes but also provide practical guidelines for promoting effective health learning in the contemporary algorithm-driven information environment.

[Mis- and disinformation in social media: mitigating risks in digital health communication]

Misinformation and disinformation in social media have become a challenge for effective public health measures. Here, we examine factors that influence believing and sharing false information, both misinformation and disinformation, at individual, social, and contextual levels and discuss intervention possibilities.At the individual level, knowledge deficits, lack of skills, and emotional motivation have been associated with believing in false information. Lower health literacy, a conspiracy mindset and certain beliefs increase susceptibility to false information. At the social level, the credibility of information sources and social norms influence the sharing of false information. At the contextual level, emotions and the repetition of messages affect belief in and sharing of false information.Interventions at the individual level involve measures to improve knowledge and skills. At the social level, addressing social processes and social norms can reduce the sharing of false information. At the contextual level, regulatory approaches involving social networks is considered an important point of intervention.Social inequalities play an important role in the exposure to and processing of misinformation. It remains unclear to which degree the susceptibility to belief in and share misinformation is an individual characteristic and/or context dependent. Complex interventions are required that should take into account multiple influencing factors.

Health Information as "Fodder for Fears": A Qualitative Analysis of Types and Determinants of the Nonuse of Health Information

As not all individuals are willing to pay attention to health information it is crucial to understand and distinguish the underlying motives and the scope of various nonuse behaviors. To increase conceptual clarity and specify theoretical assumptions about the types of nonuse of health information and their determinants, we used a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews with 11 female, 10 male, and 10 non-binary participants aged between 18 and 67 (M = 39.7) showed that information ignoring and avoidance are two distinct behaviors characterized by their motivational patterns. Information ignoring is a preference for other content, serving as a strategy to manage limited time resources and receptivity. Information avoidance is understood as a decision to avoid threatening health information serving emotion regulation. Our data further indicate that information ignoring and avoidance are not unidimensional constructs. Instead, the selectivity and consistency of both behaviors build various types of information ignoring and avoidance, which need to be explained differently considering individual differences, cognitive, affective, socio-normative, and structural factors. Further, theory specification should build on the revealed findings and test which factors relate to which kind of nonuse behaviors.

"I Know News Will Find Me": Examining the Relationship Between the "News-Finds-Me" Perception and COVID-19 Misperceptions

In the current media environment, some individuals have shifted from actively monitoring news toward passively waiting for the media to alert them about news to a certain extent, forming a "news-finds-me" (NFM) perception. Drawing on a cross-sectional survey (N = 906) of adults from the United States, this study investigates the relationship between the NFM perception and COVID-19 misperceptions. Findings demonstrated a positive association between NFM perception and misperceptions. Moreover, information avoidance mediated the relationship between NFM and misperception. Finally, need for cognition (NFC) was a significant moderator, such that among those with greater NFC, the indirect effect of NFM perception on misperceptions became weaker. Findings of this study can contribute to the literature of NFM perception in health contexts and provide useful guidelines for combating misinformation and misperceptions in the algorithm-generated information environment.