Cutting Through the Misguided Conventional Wisdom about Healthcare: How Can We Help the Public Believe Medical Evidence

Purpose

This study will investigate public perceptions of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer screening by contrasting popular media messages with evidence based information.

The specific aims of this research study are:

Specific aim 1: To describe the influence and impact popular media has on medical decision making for these conditions; comparing and contrasting how patients perceive, understand, and process information from popular media with evidence based decision aids for these condition.

Specific aim 2: To identify how trust in the healthcare system impacts the influence of popular media on perceptions of medical evidence.

Specific aim 3: To identify potential strategies that increase the likelihood an individual will believe medical evidence that is counterintuitive or contrary to conventional wisdom.