2089V - Susceptibility to Misinformation in Clinical Populations: A Role for Clinicians in Combatting False Information

The spread of misinformation has received significant attention in recent years, with demonstrated negative influences on people’s decision-making and beliefs about politics, healthcare, and science. Everyone is susceptible to the effects of misinformation, but this susceptibility may be greater for many populations served by speech-language pathologists. Critically, misinformation can be resistant to correction, and may negatively impact our clients’ adherence to evidence-based approaches. How, then, should clinicians respond to misinformation endorsed by our clients or their caregivers? We review findings from social psychology, cognitive psychology, and science communication describing the effects of misinformation and provide evidence-based strategies for combatting misinformation. We also present findings from two studies of misinformation susceptibility in patients with traumatic brain injury.