JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Latinos were more likely to report accessing coronavirus information on social media than other groups (Nielsen, 2021) – despite copious amounts of health misinformation documented on these platforms. Among the existing literature on predictors for engagement and utilization of health information, racial minority status has been associated with greater susceptibility to health misinformation (Nan et al. 2022). However, literature to date has not reported national trends on how Latinos engage with or utilize health information on social media compared to non-Latino whites (NLWs), nor whether perceptions of the amount of health misinformation on social media influence health information engagement and utilization.

Objective:

This study aimed to examine differences in engagement with and utilization of health information on social media among Latinos and NLWs in the U.S.

Methods:

We examined a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of Latino (n=827) and NLW (n=2563) HINTS 6 survey respondents who used social media in 2022 to assess differences in engagement with and utilization of health information. Items related to perceived quantity of health misinformation on social media, social media utilization frequency, health information engagement (sharing content; watching videos) and health information utilization (health decision-making; discussions with healthcare providers) were selected to conduct weighted bivariate analyses and logistic regressions.

Results:

Latinos perceive lower amounts of health misinformation on social media (28.9% perceived little/no misinformation vs. 13.6% NLWs, P<0.001). Latinos also reported higher health information engagement compared to NLWs (20% vs. 10.2% shared information several times a month or more, P<0.001; 42.4% vs. 27.2% watched videos several times a month or more, P<0.001), as well as higher information utilization for health decision-making (22.8% vs. 13.7%, P=0.003). When controlling for ethnicity and other sociodemographic variables, having lower perceptions of the amount of health misinformation on social media was predictive of higher odds of watching videos more frequently, making health decisions and discussing health-related content with a healthcare provider (P<0.001). Furthermore, Latinos were 1.85 times more likely to watch videos (P<0.001), when controlling for perceived amount of health misinformation and other sociodemographic variables. Lastly, when compared to NLWs perceiving little/no health misinformation, Latinos perceiving little/no health misinformation were 2.91 times more likely to watch videos (P<0.001).

Conclusions:

Findings suggest Latinos engage with visual health (mis)information at higher rates. Digital health literacy interventions should consider video formats and preferred social media platforms among Latinos. Further research is warranted to understand sociocultural factors important to Latino social media users when consuming health information, as these may impact the success of digital media literacy interventions that teach users how to navigate misinformation online.