Ticozzi Elena Maria, Gaetti Giovanni, Gambolò Luca, Bottignole Dario, Di Fronzo Pasquale, Solla Daniele, Stirparo Giuseppe
SIMED-Società Italiana di Medicina e Divulgazione Scientifica, 43125 Parma, Italy.
Epidemiologia (Basel). 2025 Jun 10;6(2):27. doi: 10.3390/epidemiologia6020027.
Newly licensed physicians play a significant role in healthcare systems. However, they often lack knowledge about vaccine practices. This study aims to evaluate their ability to distinguish between fake news and the actual side effects of vaccines.
We distributed a questionnaire to assess newly licensed physicians' knowledge of side effects of vaccines and widespread fake news about them. We enrolled 317 newly licensed Italian physicians.
The average questionnaire score was 6.21/10 (SD = ±1.25). Work experience and age did not correlate with scores.
Many participants were not able to distinguish between fake news and real vaccines' side effects (e.g., the possible association between varicella vaccine and seizures). Furthermore, many physicians have been shown to believe in fake news. This lack of knowledge could lead to the inability to scientifically respond to anti-vaccinationists, thus increasing mistrust in medical counseling. Addressing knowledge gaps among recently licensed physicians is crucial to improving proper counseling and increasing public adherence to vaccination campaigns.
新获得执照的医生在医疗保健系统中发挥着重要作用。然而，他们往往缺乏疫苗接种实践方面的知识。本研究旨在评估他们区分虚假新闻和疫苗实际副作用的能力。
我们分发了一份问卷，以评估新获得执照的医生对疫苗副作用以及有关疫苗的广泛虚假新闻的了解情况。我们招募了317名新获得执照的意大利医生。
问卷平均得分为6.21/10（标准差=±1.25）。工作经验和年龄与得分无关。
许多参与者无法区分虚假新闻和真实疫苗的副作用（例如水痘疫苗与癫痫发作之间可能存在的关联）。此外，许多医生被证明相信虚假新闻。这种知识的缺乏可能导致无法科学地回应反疫苗者，从而增加对医疗咨询的不信任。解决新获得执照医生之间的知识差距对于改善正确的咨询以及提高公众对疫苗接种运动的依从性至关重要。
