Read Time: 5 minutes
Authors: Andy King, PhD, and Ben Lyons, PhD
Cancer misinformation—information that is inaccurate or incomplete based on current scientific understanding and medical recommendations—is an issue many people have concerns about. Some health misinformation, like avoiding going outside in the cold with wet hair, is harmless, and most people encounter far more accurate health information than inaccurate health information. However, aging populations, including cancer patients, are vulnerable to detrimental effects of health misinformation.
As part of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s mission to provide education about cancer risk, prevention, and care, researchers are working to better understand how to empower the communities we serve to make informed health decisions.
Health communication experts Andy King, PhD, and Ben Lyons, PhD, members of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s (CCPS), answer questions about the dangers of cancer misinformation and discuss their research on how improving health media literacy might help older individuals mitigate the impact of health misinformation.
How Common Is Cancer Misinformation?
Our research, along with our colleague , co-leader of the CCPS, shows that older individuals are more likely to be exposed to low-credibility health information, including information about cancer. We found that although overall exposure to low-credibility health websites is low, it is .
For instance, based on web-browsing data, over 20% of Americans over age 60 visited low-credibility sites in a 4-week period in 2023 (vs. just 5% of those aged 18–29). These low-credibility health sites also constitute a greater share of older adults’ total exposure to health information online.
Why Are Aging Populations More Vulnerable to Cancer Misinformation?
Cognitive decline associated with aging can impair the ability to critically evaluate information. Also, older adults often have limited digital literacy, making navigating an overwhelming amount of online information challenging.
A conducted by the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found that 20% of older adults are not confident in their abilities to identify health misinformation. finds that this may be warranted.
Compared to younger cohorts, older adults had more difficulty discerning between accurate and inaccurate cancer news headlines. Older adults were also especially likely to reject true statements about cancer risk factors. This likely leads to greater acceptance and sharing of inaccurate information compared to younger populations.
Why Is Cancer Misinformation Dangerous?
In our work, we have found that exposure to misinformation is greatest among those predisposed to believe inaccurate or false claims about cancer—particularly among those over 60 years of age. This can have serious consequences for aging populations that might be more likely to need clinical intervention.
For example, misinformation about cancer treatments can result in patients opting for unproven and potentially harmful therapies instead of evidence-based medical treatments. Prioritizing health media literacy is an important component of ensuring that older adults are not unduly affected by the misinformation they encounter.
What Is Health Media Literacy?
Health media literacy refers to skills related to accessing, understanding, evaluating, and using health information from various media sources effectively. Improving health media literacy can empower aging populations to make better informed health decisions and reduce the impact of misinformation.
Health media literacy encompasses several key skills, including
- Critical thinking
- Digital literacy
- Ability to discern credible sources of information
What Are Some Challenges to Combating Misinformation?
found that even can improve people’s ability to discern misinformation from accurate health information or improve the quality of what they share. One concern is that helping people better identify misinformation can also lead to an unintentional outcome: increasing people's skepticism toward legitimate health sources.
Overemphasizing skepticism may lead people to distrust expert consensus on issues or dismiss accurate, current health recommendations. Fostering trust in legitimate health information is just as important as combating misinformation. Encouraging familiarity with trusted sources over time and demonstrating how science evolves based on evidence can also help reinforce confidence in credible health guidance.
Older adults can benefit from training programs that teach them how to critically assess the credibility of sources and the validity of health claims. Digital literacy is also important, enabling individuals to navigate online health information and identify trustworthy websites and resources. Additionally, understanding how to discern credible sources of information, such as peer-reviewed journals and reputable health organizations, can help older adults avoid misinformation.
What Are Some Strategies for Identifying Cancer Misinformation?
In our work, we have tested both standard digital literacy and health-specific interventions’ effects on discernment skills.
Standard digital literacy interventions
Standard digital literacy interventions typically emphasize skepticism toward sensational headlines, scrutiny of URLs for deceptive similarities to credible sources, and verification of the publisher’s credibility. Other common recommendations include checking for unusual formatting, analyzing images for manipulation or mis-contextualization, and ensuring that dates and timelines make sense. Readers are also typically advised to compare reports across multiple reputable sources and determine whether a story is satirical or deliberately false before sharing it.
Health-specific media literacy interventions
Health-specific media literacy interventions account for the fact that there are also some health-specific markers to evaluate concerning online information sources. One key point in these guidelines is that health articles may discuss research without clearly stating that it is still in its early stages and not yet applicable to personal health decisions. Another important consideration is that health-related information should come from experts rather than non-professionals.
What Are the Benefits of Health Media Literacy?
Enhancing health media literacy among aging populations would yield several significant benefits:
Empowers older adults
Empowers older adults to make informed health decisions with accurate information, leading to better health outcomes and improved quality of life.
Reduces emotional distress
Reduces emotional distress associated with misinformation, as when older adults are confident in their ability to discern credible information, they are likely to experience less anxiety and stress related to conflicting health claims.
Promotes a more informed and engaged aging population
Promotes a more informed and engaged aging population. Older adults who are adept at navigating health information can actively participate in their health care decisions and advocate for themselves effectively. This empowerment can lead to a more collaborative and patient-centered approach to health care.