Health Literacy, Social Media and Pandemic Planning

Abstract

The novel coronavirus and resulting global pandemic serves to underscore the importance of health literacy. As more Americans are urged to self-isolate as a way of combating the spread of the virus, they turn to the internet and social networks for information, support, and community. However, previous estimates of limited or low health literacy of Americans may mean that many who use the internet for information may not be accessing or interpreting information correctly and more disturbingly, may be facilitating the spread of misinformation. Health literacy must be established as an integral part of the public health response to disaster planning.