Misinformation about COVID-19 among middle-aged and older migrants residing in Brazil and Portugal.
Rodrigo Mota de Oliveira, Álvaro Francisco Lopes de Sousa, Anderson Reis de Sousa and 4 others
PMID 37603876WHAT IT FOUND
188 of 304 older migrants agreed with at least one COVID-19 misinformation claim.
Having a religion, more education, knowing someone who died from COVID-19, and no intention to vaccinate were associated with agreement.
Key findings
01188 of 304 participants (61.8%) agreed with at least one piece of misinformation content.
02The most agreed-with misinformation item was that forehead infrared thermometer light may cause brain damage, hormonal problems, and insomnia (26.7%).
03Multivariate analysis associated having a religion (24%), more education (17%), knowing someone who died from COVID-19 (78%), and no intention to vaccinate (36%) with agreement with misinformation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants were recruited through an adapted online snowball method, so people without internet access or without connections to the initial seeds were unlikely to be included. The study is cross-sectional, so the associations with religion, education, knowing someone who died from COVID-19, and vaccination intention cannot establish cause. The sample was limited to migrants aged 50 or older from Portuguese-speaking countries who completed the questionnaire in Brazil or Portugal. The primary outcome was agreement with at least one misinformation item, which does not show which specific claims drove behaviour or how much misinformation each participant encountered. The results text reports percentage increases for adjusted factors, while the table reports prevalence ratios, and the supplied text does not reconcile these values.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that religion, education, bereavement, or vaccine intention cause agreement with misinformation. This was an online cross-sectional survey of migrants with internet access, so it can show only association, not cause, and it did not test any educational intervention.