ARTICLE | Barriers to health information on social media by Fellipe Sá Brasileiro and Ana Margarida Almeida

The article “Barriers to health information on social media” by Fellipe Sá Brasileiro and Ana Margarida Almeida (DigiMedia member) was published in DIGITAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE.

Abstract:

Introduction: The use of social media for the self-management of health information is a recurrent practice for lay users who experience different health contexts. While facilitating access and sharing of information, social media can contribute to the creation of possible risks to health and well-being, since they expand the experiences of emotional vulnerability and misinformation. Objective: To discover the current evidence that impacts the beneficial use of social media for health information purposes, we sought to examine how barriers to the health information on social media, perceived by lay users, are presented in recent empirical research. Methodology: Qualitative exploratory research was carried out through a literature review in the SCOPUS database. Results: It was observed that, although they are multiple and vary according to the health contexts and situational motivations, the barriers can be articulated in a mesh composed of the following meta-barriers: diasporic, misinformation, literacy, interaction, and emotional. Conclusion: It is concluded that the mesh of barriers presented, associated with other structural barriers, can contribute to the construction of research instruments and digital interventions involving the use of social media for health information purposes.

Citation:

Brasileiro, F. S., & Almeida, A. M. P. (2021). Barriers to health information on social media. RDBCI: Digital Journal of Library and Information Science19(00), e021030. https://doi.org/10.20396/rdbci.v19i00.8667199

More information available HERE

Skip to content