Information-seeking behavior and phobias related to medicine

Project leader: Olessia Koltsova

Participants: Elina Tsigeman, Evgeniia Alenina, Maksim Terpilowski

A new direction of the laboratory, which studies how information and misinformation in the field of health and medical technologies are searched, perceived and disseminated. The presence of phobias and prejudices in the field of medical technologies (for example, fear of certain chemicals or devices) distorts the estimates of health risks and influences information-seeking behavior. To successfully overcome these challenges, it is necessary to have research-based conceptions about the mechanisms of development of medical phobia and its real consequences in the field of search, perception, and dissemination of information related to health. This project aims to study the behavior in the field of dissemination of information in the field of health among social networks users. The project is currently developing a methodology to identify the relationship between information behavior and the presence of phobias in the field of medical technology.