Trusting the Timeline: Social Media Use in Making Health Decisions Across Race and Ethnicity
Rivers, Cassie
Rivers, Cassie
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Abstract
Objective: To examine the association between race and ethnicity and trust in social media as a health information source among US adults. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the nationally representative 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey. The analytic sample included 6,035 adults. Trust in social media for health information was assessed using an ordinal measure. Adjusted ordinal logistic regression estimated associations between race/ethnicity and trust, controlling for age, sex, income, education, and census region. Results: 30.2% reported encountering �a lot� of misleading health information; 17.1% did not use social media. Compared with non-Hispanic White respondents, non-Hispanic Black (aOR=1.69; 95% CI=1.44, 1.98), Hispanic (aOR=1.56; 95% CI=1.35, 1.80), and non-Hispanic Asian respondents (aOR=1.50; 95% CI=1.18, 1.89) had higher odds of greater trust. Statistically significant associations were observed across several covariates, including annual household income, age, education level, and sex. Conclusions: Trust in social media health information varies by race/ethnicity and sociodemographic factors. Policy Implications: Communication strategies should prioritize accurate, accessible messaging on social media and address disparities in exposure and trust.
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Date
1/1/2026
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Graduate Student
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Poster
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Master of Public Health
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Larner College of Medicine
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Social Science