Grant Number:	5R01CA278997-02 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Loeb, Stacy
Organization:	New York University School Of Medicine
Project Title:	Addressing Misinformation to Promote Equity in Prostate Cancer Care
Fiscal Year:	2024

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Prostate cancer information shared through popular social networks such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok is widely viewed but misinformation is common. This has important implications for informed decision-making and quality of life. Exposure to misinformation is an understudied and potentially modifiable contributor to health inequities in prostate cancer among Black and Hispanic men. The U.S. Surgeon General recently issued an advisory that spread of misinformation is a serious threat to public health, calling for more research to tackle misinformation. We will address this research gap through three key approaches: (1) We will examine the most common types of misinformation being shared about prostate cancer through social media in English and Spanish. (2) We will also explore how Black and Hispanic men determine whether prostate cancer information is trustworthy. (3) We will conduct a randomized trial to test the efficacy of a general media literacy intervention and a health literacy intervention to reduce trust in misinformative prostate cancer content among Black and Hispanic adults. Our multi-disciplinary team is well-suited to lead this study with expertise in prostate cancer clinical care, biostatistics, epidemiology, health literacy, health equity, and social media. Our advisory board includes multi-disciplinary patients, experts and community leaders, all of whom will be involved in all stages of the research design and in the public dissemination of results. The expected outcomes of this study will advance the field and promote health equity by studying ways to address the widespread dissemination of misinformation about prostate cancer.