Engagement With and Use of Health Information on Social Media Among US Latino Individuals: National Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, US Latino individuals were more likely to report accessing coronavirus information on social media than other groups, despite copious amounts of health misinformation documented on these platforms. Among the existing literature on factors associated with engagement and use of health information, racial minority status has been associated with greater susceptibility to health misinformation. However, literature to date has not reported national trends on how Latino individuals engage with or use health information on social media compared to non-Latino White (NLW) individuals, nor whether perceptions of the amount of health misinformation on social media influence health information engagement and usage.

Objective: This study aimed to examine differences in engagement with and use of health information on social media among Latino and NLW individuals in the United States.

Methods: We examined a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of Latino (n=827) and NLW (n=2563) respondents of the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey who used social media in 2022 to assess differences in engagement with and use of health information. Items related to the perceived quantity of health misinformation on social media, social media use frequency, health information engagement (sharing content; watching videos), and health information usage (health decision-making; discussions with health care providers) were selected to conduct weighted bivariate analyses and logistic regressions.

Results: Latino individuals perceive lower amounts of health misinformation on social media (28.9% perceived little to no misinformation vs 13.6% NLW individuals, P<.001). Latino audiences also reported higher health information engagement compared to NLW individuals (20% vs 10.2% shared information several times a month or more, P<.001; 42.4% vs 27.2% watched videos several times a month or more, P<.001), as well as higher information usage for health decision-making (22.8% vs 13.7%, P=.003). When controlling for ethnicity and other sociodemographic variables, perceiving lower amounts of health misinformation on social media was associated with higher odds of watching videos more frequently, making health decisions, and discussing health-related content with a health care provider (P<.001). Furthermore, Latino audiences were 1.85 times more likely to watch videos (P<.001), when controlling for the perceived amount of health misinformation and other sociodemographic variables. Finally, when compared to NLW individuals perceiving little to no health misinformation, Latino audiences perceiving little to no health misinformation were 2.91 times more likely to watch videos (P<.001).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that Latino individuals engage with visual health (mis)information at higher rates. Digital health literacy interventions should consider video formats and preferred social media platforms among Latino individuals. Further research is warranted to understand sociocultural factors important to Latino social media users when consuming health information, as these may impact the success of digital media literacy interventions that teach users how to navigate misinformation online.

Keywords: Latinos; United States; engagement; health information; health misinformation; national; non-Latino whites; pandemic; social media; survey; trends; utilization.