A new review study by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development shows that nearly one in three people choose to avoid medical information about serious health conditions if they fear they may be affected. One of the main reasons driving this behavior is a lack of trust in the medical system. The study has been published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
  • Avoiding information: Around one third of people avoid medical information, especially in the case of serious illnesses, due to fear and a lack of trust in the healthcare system.
  • Study basis: The meta-analysis is based on 92 studies with 564,497 participants from 25 countries, including Germany, and shows that information avoidance is a widespread phenomenon.
  • The reasons: Sixteen factors drive information avoidance, including, above all, feeling overwhelmed, fear of stigmatization, a sense of lack of self-efficacy, and low trust in the medical system.
  • Health policy implications: The results suggest that greater trust in the healthcare system could promote willingness to engage with medical information.