Caution needed when reporting on health scares

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-01-09 09:00

New Zealand; International

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

Stories that raise concerns about common household products, new technologies, or medical treatments frequently appear in the media or on social media. When the actual health risk turns out to be comparatively low or unfounded, the health scares that these stories produce can have a negative impact on people's health behaviours, and can cause unnecessarily high levels of anxiety. They can also cause a "nocebo effect", where people report adverse effects that are caused by negative expectations, rather than any physical effects from exposure to the object of concern. A New Zealand and international team reviewed recent health scares, and say that traditional and social media can reduce health scares' negative impact on public health, for instance by social media tagging inaccurate posts, and by traditional media finding a balance between a newsworthy story and not causing unnecessary worries.