Factors Associated With Perceived Trust of False Abortion Websites: Cross-sectional Online Survey

Abstract

Background Most patients use the internet to search for health information. While there is a vast repository of searchable information online, much of the content is unregulated and therefore potentially incorrect, conflicting, or confusing. Abortion information online is particularly prone to being inaccurate as antichoice websites publish purposefully misleading information in formats that appear as neutral resources. To understand how antichoice websites appear neutral, we need to understand the specific website features of antichoice websites that impart an impression of trustworthiness. Objective We sought to identify the characteristics of false or misleading abortion websites that make these websites appear trustworthy to the public. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. We used validated questionnaires to ask participants to rate 11 antichoice websites and one neutral website identified by experts, focusing on website content, creators, and design. We collected sociodemographic data and participant views on abortion. We used a composite measure of “mean overall trust” as our primary outcome. Using correlation matrices, we determined which website characteristics were most associated with mean overall trust. Finally, we used linear regression to identify participant characteristics associated with overall trust. Results Our analytic sample included 498 participants aged from 22 to 70 years, and 50.1% (247/493) identified as female. Across 11 antichoice websites, creator confidence (“I believe that the creators of this website are honest and trustworthy”) had the highest correlation coefficient (strongest relationship) with mean overall trust (coefficient=0.70). Professional appearance (coefficient=0.59), look and feel (coefficient=0.59), perception that the information is created by experts (coefficient=0.59), association with a trustworthy organization (coefficient=0.58), valued features and functionalities (coefficient=0.54), and interactive capabilities (coefficient=0.52) all demonstrated strong relationships with mean overall trust. At the individual level, prochoice leaning was associated with higher overall trust of the neutral website (B=−0.43, 95% CI −0.87 to 0.01) and lower mean overall trust of the antichoice websites (B=0.52, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.99). Conclusions The mean overall trust of antichoice websites is most associated with design characteristics and perceived trustworthiness of website creators. Those who believe that access to abortion should be limited are more likely to have higher mean overall trust for antichoice websites.

An Introduction to Health Literacy and Social Contexts with Recommendations for Health Professionals and Researchers

“…Digital health literacy is understood as the ability to search for, find, understand, and evaluate health information based on digital sources and to apply the knowledge gained to address health challenges and solve problems. Given our shift to primarily digital sources of information and the increasing importance of digital interaction, it is important that health providers are prepared for their patients to have strong preconceived notions from outside sources perceived as trustworthy, which may or may not be accurate [65]. Providers must not only be prepared to educate their patients and vet online health information themselves, but to negotiate the value of health information found by patients outside of clinical contexts [66,67].…”

Informationen zur reproduktiven Gesundheit in digitalen Medien

“…Bryant et al 2014 ; Dodge et al 2018 ). Die Studien weisen darauf hin, dass im Netz häufig sachlich falsche oder irreführende Informationen bereitgestellt werden ( Chaiken et al 2021 ) oder dass die Contents unterschiedliche Mythen über den Schwangerschaftsabbruch, wie z. B. damit angeblich zusammenhängende psychische Probleme, bedienen ( Biggs et al 2015 ; Bryant et al 2014 ; Patev und Hood 2021 ; Swartzendruber et al 2018 ).…”

“…Da im Kontext von Schwangerschaftsabbrüchen die Sorge vor gezielten Fehlinformationen oder moralisch-ethischer Beeinflussung durch sogenannte Lebensschutzorganisationen besteht ( Chaiken et al 2021 ), wurde untersucht, wie häufig jene Bündnisse mit ihren Websites auf den ersten vier Google-Treffer-Seiten im Sample vertreten waren. Befürworter*innen des sogenannten Lebensschutzes argumentieren, dass der Embryo/Fötus ein Recht auf Leben habe und ein Schwangerschaftsabbruch eine moralisch verwerfliche Form der Tötung darstelle ( Krolzik-Matthei 2019 ).…”

“…Dies kann ein Indiz dafür sein, dass die dahinterstehenden Organisationen um SEO bemüht sind, also gezielt Ressourcen nutzen, um ihre Websites möglichst unter den ersten Suchtreffern anzeigen zu lassen. Dieser Befund knüpft an US-amerikanische Forschungsresultate an, gemäß derer Institutionen von Abtreibungsgegner*innen für eine hohe Positionierung bei Google zahlen ( Chaiken et al 2021 ), was insofern beachtenswert ist, als dass nicht nur die Auffindbarkeit, sondern auch die Glaubwürdigkeit von Informationen vom Rang ihrer Positionierung in Suchmaschinen positiv beeinflusst wird ( Westerwick 2013 ).…”

“…Stichprobe von Websites von Schwangerschaftsberatungsstellen (n = 319) nach Trägern/Dachverbänden und Scheinvergabe.Dieses Dokument wurde zum persönlichen Gebrauch heruntergeladen. Vervielfältigung nur mit Zustimmung des Verlages Chaiken et al 2021),. wurde untersucht, wie häufig jene Bündnisse mit ihren Websites auf den ersten vier Google-Treffer-Seiten im Sample vertreten waren.…”