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Cited by 46Misinformation and Its ImpactsCOVID-19 and Mental HealthCommunication and COVID-19 Impact

Social media medical misinformation: impact on mental health and vaccination decision among university students

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Jabbour, Diana, Masri, Jad El, Nawfal, Rashad, Malaeb, Diana, Salameh, Pascale·2023·Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -)
DOI 10.1007/s11845-022-02936-9PMC PMC8814778
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Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need of social media as a medium for gathering health-related information. Simultaneously, a slew of false information, primarily about COVID-19's origin, dissemination, prevention, treatment, and fatality surfaced, making it difficult to distinguish fake from genuine material. However, the possible effects on mental health and the extent to which this influences our decisions, particularly regarding vaccination, are unknown. Aim The purpose of this questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was to examine Lebanese University students' perceptions of social media influence during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to measure the impact of misinformation on respondents' mental health and vaccination decisions. Methods In total, 440 students took part and were asked to complete an online survey that included questions on social media trust, the "general health questionnaire index" (GHQ-12), and a scale measuring "attitude towards vaccination". Results Our data demonstrated a low frequency of mental health disorders among Lebanese University students, which was correlated to frequent social media exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggested that students are more aware of misinformation and had lower rates of despair and anxiety than the general population. Furthermore, Facebook use was associated with worse attitude and behaviour towards vaccination (p = 0.001), but a better mental health. Twitter had the inverse effect (p = 0.002). Conclusion It is a necessity to use social media correctly in health-related topics, to push governments and platforms towards making decisions about false and invalidated posts.

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  • Prolonged exposure to specific social media platforms significantly undermines favorable vaccination attitudes.

    “Jabbour et al. (15) found that prolonged exposure to specific social media platforms significantly undermines favorable vaccination attitudes”

    From Health misinformation, digital health literacy, and attitudes toward science among university students: an exploratory cross-sectional survey (2026) · cites this paper as Jabbour et al. (15)

    The Discussion reports significantly more negative COVID-19 vaccination attitudes among Facebook users (p = 0.001), supporting the platform-specific association. But it also says that limited information on time spent on each platform made it impossible to establish a quantitative relationship; the claim about prolonged exposure is therefore unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Jabbour, D., Masri, J. E., Nawfal, R., Malaeb, D., & Salameh, P.
Affiliations
  • Lebanese University (LB)
  • Lebanese International University (LB)
  • University of Nicosia (CY)
Corresponding author
Jabbour, Diana
ORCID
Venue
Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -)
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-02-04
Volume
192
Issue
1
Pages
291-301
ISSN
  • 0021-1265 (ISSN-L)
  • 1863-4362
DOI
10.1007/s11845-022-02936-9
PMC
PMC8814778
OpenAlex
W4210565257
Cited by
46
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8
FWCI
14.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
Keywords
health misinformation, social media, COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, vaccine attitudes, university students, trust in social media, Facebook, Twitter, anxiety, depression, Lebanese students
MeSH terms
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Communication, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Mental Health, Students, Universities, Vaccination, Pandemics, Social Media

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