JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Unmet need for health care is defined as an individual choosing to postpone or completely avoid necessary medical treatment, despite have a need for health care, which can worsen current conditions or contribute to new health problems. The emerging infodemic can be a barrier that prevents people from accessing quality health information that could contribute to lower levels of seeking medical care when needed.

Objective:

We evaluated the association between perceptions of health mis- and disinformation on social media and unmet need for health care. In addition, we evaluated mechanisms for this relationship, including frequency of social media use, medical trust, and medical care discrimination.

Methods:

Data from 3,964 active adult social media users responding to the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey 6 (HINTS 6), a nationally representative survey, were analyzed. The outcome was unmet need for medical care, defined as delaying or not getting medical care the participant needed. The predictor variables were perception of social media health mid-disinformation, frequency of social media use, level of trust of the healthcare system, and perceived racial/ethnic discrimination when getting health care.

Results:

Multivariable logistic regression models indicated that perception of substantial social media health mis-and disinformation (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.07-1.82), daily use of social media (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.01-1.79), low medical trust (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.06-2.01), and perceived discrimination (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.44-3.50) were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of unmet need for medical care. Unmet need among adults who did not use social media daily and who did not perceive substantial mis- and disinformation (24%; 95% CI 19%–30%) was lower compared to daily social media users that perceived substantial mis- and disinformation (38% 95% CI 32%-43%). Adults who perceived substantial mis- and disinformation and had low trust of healthcare had the highest probability of reporting unmet need (43% 95% CI 38%-49%) compared to the other three groups. Adults who perceived substantial mis- and disinformation and experienced medical care discrimination had a statistically significant higher probability of reporting unmet need (51% 95% CI 40%-62%) compared to adults who did not experience medical care discrimination and did not perceive substantial mis- and disinformation (29% 95% CI 26%-32%).

Conclusions:

Unmet need for medical care was higher among persons who perceived a substantial degree of social media mis-disinformation, especially among persons who use social media daily, do not trust the healthcare system, and experienced racial/ethnic discrimination when getting health care. To counter the negative effects of social media mis- and disinformation on unmet need for health care, public health messaging must focus on daily social media users and improving trust and reducing structural racism in the healthcare system.