Evidence Matters

What is the Most Trusted Source of Health Information in the US?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Suran and Bucher (JAMA, 2024) review important survey data that ascertained where individuals in the US get their news and the which health information sources they trust

Survey of a nationally representative sample of Black, Hispanic and White US adults

Trust in health professionals was high, and crossed party lines
- 95% of both Republicans and Democrats reported that they trusted their personal physicians to provide accurate recommendations on health issues
Trust in the government was lower, but still relatively high, but varied more across party lines
- Trust in CDC
  - Republicans: 49% | Democrats: 87%
- Trust in state and local public health officials
  - Republicans: 58% | Democrats: 74%
The vast majority (96%) of respondents reported hearing at least one of the 10 false claims presented by the survey
- e.g. that the MMR vaccine causes autism
While knowledge of misinformation was high, the percentage of people that believed false claims was generally lower: 14 to 35%
Most respondents (74%) were concerned about the spread of false health claims
- Desire for Congress and President Joe Biden to do more: 68 to 78%
- Desire for US news media to do more: 70%
Social media use was high, but most people reported not trusting the health information on platforms
- Users who visited Facebook weekly: 63% | Users who trust health claims on Facebook: 5%
Use of local and national news media was also high, and respondents reported a greater trust in health information from these sources
- Local news watchers: 62%
- Watchers who have “a lot” of trust in health claims on local news: 37%

Most adults are aware that there are a lot of false health claims circulating on social media, and through society in general
Despite many respondents having heard these claims, far fewer actually believe them
The most trusted source for health information was respondent’s personal physician