One in four Americans say they don’t want a coronavirus vaccine. That’s according
to a recent poll by NPR and Marist. Misinformation could be one cause, including posts and stories that are shared on social media.
Researchers at Virginia Tech are looking at how this is playing out with people in Appalachia. It’s called, “Trust in Healthcare and
The researchers asked a group of Appalachians who they trusted the most from a list of 15 healthcare-related choices. According to Dr. Michelle Rockwell, lead investigator on the project, most people surveyed said they trusted a primary care doctor.
“We are interested in knowing if there are any subtle interventions that a healthcare provider or healthcare organization could take to help with the spread of misinformation,” Rockwell said. “We designed a social media simulation based on some other work that has shown that little nudges, thinking through accuracy, before reading, social media can make a difference in how that information is shared, or how accurate it’s perceived to be.”