Where Do Americans Get Health Information, and What Do They Trust?

In an era with unprecedented access to health information, the vast majority of Americans still turn to health care providers for health information, according to a new Pew Research Center study. Many also look to major health websites such as WebMD. But Americans’ health sources aren’t limited to medical experts. Many Americans (66%) also learn from others going through similar health experiences. And some get health information from social media (36%) or AI chatbots (22%) at least sometimes. Within this landscape, Americans don’t always find it easy to determine what information is trustworthy. Half of Americans say it is at least somewhat difficult to judge if health information is accurate, and a similar share (54%) has a hard time knowing what to trust when they come across conflicting health information. Overall, however, Americans are more likely to have confidence in the accuracy of the health information they get from health care providers and major health websites compared with other sources.