IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i3p294-d1350237.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Co-Created Tool to Help Counter Health Misinformation for Spanish-Speaking Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area

Author

Listed:
  • Lucía Abascal Miguel

    (Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA)

  • Andres Maiorana

    (Division of Prevention Science, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA)

  • Gustavo Santa Roza Saggese

    (Santa Casa School of Medical Sciences, São Paulo 01221-020, Brazil)

  • Chadwick K. Campbell

    (Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA)

  • Beth Bourdeau

    (Division of Prevention Science, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA)

  • Emily A. Arnold

    (Division of Prevention Science, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA)

Abstract

Background: Health misinformation, which was particularly prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, hampers public health initiatives. Spanish-speaking communities in the San Francisco Bay Area may be especially affected due to low digital health literacy and skepticism towards science and healthcare experts. Our study aims to develop a checklist to counter misinformation, grounded in community insights. Methods: We adopted a multistage approach to understanding barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Spanish-speaking populations in Alameda and San Francisco counties. Initial work included key informant and community interviews. Partnering with a community-based organization (CBO), we organized co-design workshops in July 2022 to develop a practical tool for identifying misinformation. Template analysis identified key themes for actionable steps, such as source evaluation and content assessment. From this, we developed a Spanish-language checklist. Findings: During formative interviews, misinformation was identified as a major obstacle to vaccine uptake. Three co-design workshops with 15 Spanish-speaking women resulted in a 10-step checklist for tackling health misinformation. Participants highlighted the need for scrutinizing sources and assessing messenger credibility, and cues in visual content that could instill fear. The checklist offers a pragmatic approach to source verification and information assessment, supplemented by resources from local CBOs. Conclusion: We have co-created a targeted checklist for Spanish-speaking communities to identify and counter health misinformation. Such specialized tools are essential for populations that are more susceptible to misinformation, enabling them to differentiate between credible and non-credible information.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucía Abascal Miguel & Andres Maiorana & Gustavo Santa Roza Saggese & Chadwick K. Campbell & Beth Bourdeau & Emily A. Arnold, 2024. "A Co-Created Tool to Help Counter Health Misinformation for Spanish-Speaking Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-10, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:3:p:294-:d:1350237
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/3/294/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/3/294/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Salman Bin Naeem & Maged N. Kamel Boulos, 2021. "COVID-19 Misinformation Online and Health Literacy: A Brief Overview," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-12, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pilar Bas-Sarmiento & María José Lamas-Toranzo & Martina Fernández-Gutiérrez & Miriam Poza-Méndez, 2022. "Health Literacy, Misinformation, Self-Perceived Risk and Fear, and Preventive Measures Related to COVID-19 in Spanish University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Veronika Anselmann & Simone Halder & Sophie Sauer, 2024. "Nursing Students’ Health Literacy and Strategies to Foster Patients’ Health Literacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(8), pages 1-9, August.
    3. Kanokporn Pinyopornpanish & Nopakoon Nantsupawat & Nida Buawangpong & Suphawita Pliannuom & Tanat Vaniyapong & Wichuda Jiraporncharoen, 2022. "Concerns of Home Isolating COVID-19 Patients While Receiving Care via Telemedicine during the Pandemic in the Northern Thailand: A Qualitative Study on Text Messaging," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Federica Di Spirito & Alessandra Amato & Francesco D’Ambrosio & Davide Cannatà & Maria Pia Di Palo & Nicoletta Coppola & Massimo Amato, 2023. "HPV-Related Oral Lesions: YouTube Videos Suitability for Preventive Interventions including Mass-Reach Health Communication and Promotion of HPV Vaccination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Ammara Malik & Faiza Bashir & Khalid Mahmood, 2023. "Antecedents and Consequences of Misinformation Sharing Behavior among Adults on Social Media during COVID-19," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440221, January.
    6. María F. Rivadeneira & María J. Miranda-Velasco & Hiram V. Arroyo & José D. Caicedo-Gallardo & Carmen Salvador-Pinos, 2022. "Digital Health Literacy Related to COVID-19: Validation and Implementation of a Questionnaire in Hispanic University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-14, March.
    7. Željko Pavić & Emma Kovačević & Adrijana Šuljok, 2023. "Health literacy, religiosity, and political identification as predictors of vaccination conspiracy beliefs: a test of the deficit and contextual models," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    8. Rosa Vicari & Nadejda Komendatova, 2023. "Systematic meta-analysis of research on AI tools to deal with misinformation on social media during natural and anthropogenic hazards and disasters," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    9. Michael M. Phillips & Rosana Hernandez Weldon & Anam Maniar & Uday Patil & Uliana Kostareva & Joy Agner & Julia Finn & Tetine Sentell, 2022. "Social Networks, Health Information Sharing, and Pandemic Perceptions among Young Adults in Hawai’i during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Anthony Faiola & Maged N. Kamel Boulos & Salman Bin Naeem & Aziz ur-Rehman, 2022. "Integrating Social and Family Support as a Measure of Health Outcomes: Validity Implications from the Integrated Model of Health Literacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    11. Baharudin Abdullah & Kornkiat Snidvongs & Niken Lestari Poerbonegoro & Budi Sutikno, 2022. "Reshaping the Management of Allergic Rhinitis in Primary Care: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Chen Cohen & Lilach Rinot Levavi, 2023. "A Game-Theory-Based Approach to Promoting Health Policy among Minorities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-18, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:3:p:294-:d:1350237. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.