Practical recommendations to communicate with patients about health-related conspiracy theories
Addressing patients’ beliefs in health conspiracy theories requires an understanding of underlying motivations. MJA 2 May 2022
Research has shown that people who endorsed COVID-19 conspiracy theories (eg, that the virus was a hoax) were more likely to believe that hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment.
Also, beliefs in popular pro-hydroxychloroquine conspiracy theories (eg, the pharmaceutical industry, in collusion with the government, was preventing the distribution of chloroquine treatments in order to protect its financial interests) were more positive towards hydroxychloroquine treatment, less positive towards COVID-19 vaccinations, and less likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
These recent findings illustrate how health-related conspiracy theories can have real impacts on both attitudes towards medical research and health decisions.
This article explains what healthrelated conspiracy theories and their consequences are and why some patients might hold these beliefs, and will offer some practical recommendations about how to engage with patients who believe in these theories.
