USA TODAY International Edition
Even health workers spread fake news
We in medical industry need to do better
Social media platforms have been instrumental in allowing misinformation and distrust to proliferate, hindering the fight against the COVID- 19 pandemic. As a community nurse in and around Chicago, I have been personally and professionally thrust into the role of social media fact- checker for my patients. I live in the intersection between health care and science and a misinformed public.
I don my often- painful N95 mask, tie my hair back and evaluate patients every day. I field patient questions about microchipped syringes, and offer overly simplified explanations about the bureaucratic logistics of scientific research and vaccine development. In moments I attempt to educate patients on cell biology, immunology and microbiology — subjects I’ve taken years to study.
While cases and hospitalization of COVID- 19 patients have dropped significantly around the country, the threat of infection remains an everpresent reality. Public confidence in the COVID- 19 vaccine is improving, but not improving fast enough.
A new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found 44% expressed vaccine hesitancy, and among that group, social media was cited as a main source of vaccine information. The poll also found only 31% of respondents said they get “a fair amount of information” from nurses, doctors and other health care providers. While patient education is a central tenet tenant of a nurse’s job, the rampant spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories has made the task more difficult.
Recent news demonstrates nurses and doctors are not immune to misinformation. Last December, an Oregon doctor’s license was suspended for refusing to wear a face mask and urging others to follow him. Just last month, four nurses in Kansas refused to administer a COVID- 19 vaccine, citing the fast development and production of the shots. These types of actions from trusted medical professionals have only fueled public fear and doubt.
While misinformation remains pervasive in its most nefarious forms online, more innocuous inaccuracies have flourished, too. My Instagram feed is filled with stories and posts from my health care worker friends and colleagues promoting vaccine acceptance and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. My colleagues, many of whom have pursued rigorous years of study and training to become health care workers, frequently repost attractive, clean- lined, millennial- art styled infographics on health promotion and the dangers of COVID- 19.
But last summer, while swiping through Instagram, I noticed one infographic posted by a nurse colleague. It featured six stylized images of masked and unmasked faces; each face featured a percentage of COVID- 19 transmission risk depending on the mask combination. My immediate impulse was to repost it, but the percentages written on the image didn’t seem accurate, so I decided to dig deeper. It took one quick Google search to realize that these percentages — while well intended — had not been verified.
Studies around health misinformation have often concluded that fear, anxiety and risk perception sway individuals to make instinctive, autonomic decisions about their health and self- protection. The ease with which health care workers can unthinkingly repost and retweet self- affirming health content is enticing and, therefore, extremely dangerous.
For this reason, state medical boards across the nation are taking an active role in impeding misinformation or CDC guideline violations by physicians and other providers with penalty of revoking their license.
Fear of professional retribution should not be the only thing stopping health care workers from spreading lies and misinformation. In the context of this global pandemic, reposting health misinformation on a whim can be especially dangerous for a trusted medical professional to do.
Whether fair or not, the reality of being a health care worker is to be trusted to make the best decisions for the health of the community, both in our private and public lives. There are many resources to help fact- check, including step- by- step guides on how to distinguish fact from fiction. Among other strategies, check for spelling errors or consider the information’s effort to appeal to emotions.
It is not uncommon for a friend or family member to connect with me on social media to ask for my medical opinion. I’ve answered questions ranging from what is appropriate footwear for back pain, to precautions to take if someone in the household has been diagnosed with COVID- 19. For better or for worse, social media has the potential to intertwine private and professional lives. For this reason, nurses, doctors and other health care workers must truly scrutinize health information that they perpetuate online.
This is more than a caveat to think before you post. The ability to discern what is and isn’t credible on social media is a necessary tool for navigating today’s digital world. Understanding the gravity of misinformation is the crucial first step in establishing personal and professional accountability for what is posted online.
For a health care worker, failure to fact- check a post on social media can not only result in professional penalties, but can also mean life or death.
Katherine Buaron, RN, has a Master of Science in Nursing and is a community health registered nurse at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project.
BERLIN 1. Story of Berlin
This museum’s engaging multimedia trip through the city’s history culminates with a tour of a Cold War nuclear bomb shelter. Kurfürstendamm 207- 208
+ 49 30 8872 0100
2. Tempelhof Park
Tempelhof Airport, site of the first Lufthansa flight and the Berlin Airlift, closed in 2008. It’s now open as a beloved city park. Entrances on Columbiadamm, Oderstrasse, Tempelhofer Damm
3. Rembrandt Collection
The 16 Rembrandt works at the Gemäldegalerie form one of the world’s largest, most exquisite collections by this Dutch master. Matthäikirchplatz
+ 49 30 266 424 242 4. Ramones Museum
Avid Ramones fan Flo Hayler shares his collection of memorabilia in this cool east Berlin shrine to the punk- rock pioneers. Krausnickstrasse 23
+ 49 30 7552 8890
FRANKFURT 5. Long Island Summer Lounge
Relaxing by day and edgy at night, this beach bar atop an urban parking garage is a refreshing antidote for what ails you.
Park House Exchange, Deck 7 + 49 151 6150 9889
6. Festhalle
What do Miley Cyrus, Peter Gabriel and OneRepublic have in
common? All have played this impressive neobaroque- style exhibition hall, which dates to 1909. Ludwig- Erhard- Anlage 1
+ 49 69 1340 400
7. English Theatre
Delight in a memorable performance at this gem of a venue in the city center. Seating 300, it’s the largest English- language theater in continental Europe. Gallusanlage 7
+ 49 69 2423 1620
MUNICH 8. Bavaria Filmstadt
The famous film studio where The Neverending Story, the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Das Boot and many
other movies were made offers tours and a 4- D theater. Bavariafilmplatz 7
+ 49 089 6499 2000
9. Eisbach River Surfing
On the Eisbach’s canal next to the Haus der Kunst, look for the spot just off the road where people surf year- round — in Munich. Prinzregentenstrasse
+ 49 089 2339 6500
10. Kartoffelmuseum
The Potato Museum follows the starchy vegetable and its various uses throughout history, with special emphasis on its ties to Munich. The museum is free and worthy of an hour of your time.