Knowledge and attitudes among high school students toward medical misinformation and their willingness to pursue medical-related majors

With the rise of the Internet and social media, misinformation has become more prevalent and easier to access. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes among high school students toward medical misinformation and their willingness to pursue medical-related majors. This cross-sectional study enrolled high school students in China between December 2022 and January 2023. A total of 2002 valid questionnaires were collected. The knowledge, attitude, and willingness scores were 7.81 ± 3.02 (possible range: 0-12), 34.73 ± 4.56 (possible range: 9-45), and 30.98 ± 7.50 (possible range: 9-45), respectively. The multivariable analysis showed that attitude score (β = 0.803, 95% CI: 0.730-0.875, P < .001), age beyond 19 (β = 2.558, 95% CI: 0.596-4.520, P = .011), nontechnical high school (β = -1.549-3.358, all types P < .01), Grade III (β = 1.598, 95% CI: 0.752-2.444, P < .001), and having immediate family member engaged in medicine (β = 1.814, 95% CI: 0.736-2.892, P = .001) were associated with a higher willingness score. Additionally, structural equation modeling indicated that knowledge was associated with attitude (β = 0.727, P < .001), and attitude was associated with willingness (β = 0.806, P < .001). High school students demonstrated limited knowledge and low confidence in dealing with medical misinformation, along with only moderate willingness to pursue medical-related majors, despite generally recognizing the importance of combating misinformation. This study underscores the need to enhance high school students' ability to distinguish medical misinformation and increase their willingness to pursue medical-related majors.