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March 15, 2021
By Sara Zaske, WSU News
PULLMAN, Wash. – People who talk with their doctors are more likely to get vaccinated during a pandemic, according to a study of evidence collected during the “swine flu,” the last pandemic to hit the U.S. before COVID-19.
Researchers from Washington State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison surveyed patients about the vaccine for the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2009. They found that doctor-patient communication helped build trust in physicians, which led to more positive attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine and it was more than just talk; it correlated to people actually getting vaccinated.
March 5, 2021
By Sara Zaske, WSU News
PULLMAN, Wash. – The ability to identify misinformation only benefits people who have some skepticism toward social media, according to a new study from Washington State University.
Researchers found that people with a strong trust in information found on social media sites were more likely to believe conspiracies, which falsely explain significant events as part of a secret evil plot, even if they could identify other types of misinformation. The study, published in the journal Public Understanding of Science on March 5, showed this held true for beliefs in older conspiracy theories as well as newer ones around COVID-19.