Public trust in sources and channels on judgment accuracy in food safety misinformation with the moderation effect of self‐affirmation: Evidence from the HINTS‐China database

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes the developmentand introduction of an important new international health survey research program, HINTS‐China, which builds upon HINTS, the established national repeated‐measure US‐based survey that has been used over the past decade to inform national public health policies. The major goal of the first two administrations of the HINTS‐China surveys in 2012 and 2017 was to examine health communication patterns and trends related to the access and use of relevant health information in China. The HINTS surveys, both in the United States and in China, recognize that health is a social as well as a biological phenomenon, involving communication to inform the public about healthy behaviors and lifestyles. The preliminary results of the two HINTS‐China surveys have provided important insights into important health issues in China, including problems concerning food safety misinformation, the power of interpersonal communication as a major source of health information, the strong influences of television in shaping public knowledge about health issues, and about the perceived credibility and trust of different health information sources in China. The surveys found that socioeconomic status serves as a significant predictor of accurate public judgments about food safety misinformation, that the public tends to trust traditional media (print, radio, and television) for accessing health information more than they do digital media, and that self‐affirmation tends to moderate access to and use of relevant health information.