Infosurveillance of false information about dental caries published on Facebook

• Ano de defesa: 2024
• Autor(a) principal: Remiro, Mariana Olimpio dos Santos
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Cárie dentária; Comunicação em saúde; Dental caries; E-Health; E-Saúde; Health communication; Mídias sociais; Social media
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/25/25145/tde-05082024-172251/

Due to the digital revolution that has taken place in recent decades, particularly since the emergence of social media, access to information has been democratized, including health information. However, information is often burdened by myths or false information that can negatively influence beliefs and lead to adverse consequences for public health. Currently, there is evidence of an increase in searches for information on topics related to Dentistry, specifically dental caries. The content found on the Internet, besides being of low quality, can also contain false information. This study aimed to identify and characterize misinformation related to dental caries in Facebook posts in both English and Brazilian Portuguese idioms. Data were obtained through the CrowdTangle platform, considering posts obtained through keywords entered into the platform, originating between the years 2016 to 2021, ranked according to the total number of interactions. In total, 2436 posts in English and 783 posts in Brazilian Portuguese were analyzed. Both samples were analyzed by two independent examiners, resulting in the selection of 500 posts for each idiom. Subsequently, the independent examiners characterized the publications based on time of publication, authors profile, motivation, sentiment, and main and facticity of content. Statistical analysis was conducted using Mann-Whitney U tests, Pearson\'s Chi-Square tests, and logistic regression models, with P < 0.05 considered significant. Misinformation was found in 40.8% of English posts and 39.6% of Brazilian Portuguese posts. In posts in English, the presence of misinformation was a predictive factor for increased user interaction with posts related to dental caries (OR=1.44). Results from the Brazilian Portuguese language analysis showed greater dissemination of posts related to dental caries among those with positive sentiments (OR=1.99) and originating from service profiles (OR=3.02). Additionally, the presence of misinformation was associated with positive sentiments (OR=1.78) and financial motivation (OR=1.85). Therefore, it is essential to promote the development of specific public policies to improve the quality of health information on social media, including the production of appropriate materials, thereby enhancing the population\'s critical consumption of information obtained on the Internet.