Hu Bo, Liu Xinjie, Lu Chang, Ju Xingda
Nanjing University, China.
Northeast Normal University, China.
J Health Psychol. 2025 Jun;30(7):1427-1443. doi: 10.1177/13591053241298362. Epub 2024 Nov 28.
The rapid expansion of the Internet and social media has intensified the spread of health misinformation, posing significant risks, especially for older adults. This meta-analysis synthesizes evidence on the prevalence and interventions of health misinformation among older adults. Our findings reveal a high prevalence rate of 47% (95% CI [33%, 60%]), surpassing recent estimates. Offline research settings have a higher prevalence of health misinformation. Despite methodological variances, the prevalence remains consistent across different measures and development levels. Interventions show significant effectiveness (Hedges' = 0.76, 95% CI [0.25, 1.26]), with graphic-based approaches outperforming video-based ones. These results underscore the urgent need for tailored, large-scale interventions to mitigate the adverse impacts of health misinformation on older adults. Further research should focus on refining intervention strategies and extending studies to underrepresented regions and populations.
互联网和社交媒体的迅速扩张加剧了健康错误信息的传播，带来了重大风险，尤其是对老年人而言。这项荟萃分析综合了有关老年人健康错误信息的流行情况和干预措施的证据。我们的研究结果显示，其流行率高达47%（95%置信区间[33%，60%]），超过了近期的估计。线下研究环境中健康错误信息的流行率更高。尽管存在方法上的差异，但在不同的测量方法和发展水平中，流行率保持一致。干预措施显示出显著效果（赫奇斯效应量=0.76，95%置信区间[0.25，1.26]），基于图形的方法比基于视频的方法表现更好。这些结果强调了迫切需要采取针对性的大规模干预措施，以减轻健康错误信息对老年人的不利影响。进一步的研究应侧重于完善干预策略，并将研究扩展到代表性不足的地区和人群。
