Health care misinformation can come from many places, but people on both sides of the political aisle are increasingly concerned about misinformation in government.
According to the Pew Research Center, 65% of all voters in the 2024 general election said health care was a very important issue to them.
With the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the new secretary of Health and Human Services, some worry that the future of health research, funding and information is at risk. Others believe that his leadership, and the Make America Healthy Again campaign, will combat political misinformation.
Melinda Johnson, a nutrition professor for the College of Health Solutions and registered dietician, said misinformed health care comes from "people in power stoking misinformation for various reasons."
"The general population is becoming more unsure of who to trust when it comes to health information, and this makes it easier for non health professionals to spread misinformation," Johnson said in a written statement.
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This idea was on the rise, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when vaccines, quarantines and other public health care measures became increasingly contentious.
Johnson said misinformation about vaccines may be perpetuated by Kennedy's beliefs.
"The concern from public health officials is that his statements will discourage parents from getting their children vaccinated, which will then lead to a rise in cases of things like measles," Johnson said in a written statement. "There is also a concern that he may decide to limit or discontinue particular vaccines, such as the COVID19 vaccine."
Kennedy has received backlash for his public statements in the midst of recent measles and bird flu outbreaks across the country, as well as his continued distrust of using vaccines to combat diseases like these.
Paul Lohse, a faculty associate at the School of Politics and Global Studies, shared Johnson's concerns, especially as Kennedy is a figure of medical authority.
"Health misinformation will give legitimacy to drugs, procedures, practices that are not safe," he wrote in a written statement. "Having eroded the legitimacy of medical science, I see the government spending much less on research, education, funding, and public safety, especially if it is profitable for private interests."
Jessyca Franco-Chavez, a naturopathic doctor, said Kennedy's leadership is helping to combat misinformation in health care policy.
"RFK Jr. is the most qualified to sit as the Secretary of HHS because he has championed issues that others have been unwilling to question," Franco-Chavez said in a written statement. "Just because someone has questions, presents them, or aims to get these questions answered as to why our standard of health and healthcare outcomes in the U.S. are so concerning shouldn't also be labeled as 'misinformation.'"
Franco-Chavez and Lohse both said misinformation in health policy can be motivated by political and financial interests. While misinformation is a bipartisan concern, they had contrasting ideas of how to address it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42% of Americans are living with two or more chronic medical conditions. For Franco-Chavez, this suggests a need for different approaches to health care policy and disease prevention.
"We've never focused on prevention in healthcare in the modern allopathic medicine model," Franco-Chavez said in a written statement. "We need to embrace a more naturopathic aligned approach if we really want to lay misinformation or questions to rest."
Lohse was more skeptical of a reliance on naturopathic practices, specifically when it comes to home remedies.
"Americans have long shared home health remedies," Lohse said in a written statement. "While these treatments are often harmless or even beneficial, sometimes they're not, and the internet has made this kind of misinformation much more accessible."
Alyssa Tybursky, a sophomore studying nursing, said misinformation in health policy will make it more difficult to help people as a health care professional.
Because of the power President Donald Trump's administration holds in the U.S., Tybursky said they have the ability to influence school curriculums and laws about health care and people will believe they are right, regardless of the science.
"I went to school to learn this, but some people just don't care," Tybursky said.
Even in her experience, Tybursky has some family members who took the COVID-19 vaccine and others who did not and suffered worse symptoms of the illness.
Jacob Hill, a senior studying biomedical science and the president of Young Democrats at ASU, said a growing trend of misinformation in health care over the past few years has encouraged people not to go to the doctor unless they are sick.
"I think the people who get impacted the worst are always going to be the people at the bottom, the people who have the least amount of money, the least amount of support, the least amount of industry going towards them," Hill said.
Hill also had concerns about how misinformed policies may affect students. He mentioned potential funding cuts for research that students may have been involved in, fewer mandated vaccines and Kennedy's plan to ban cheaper processed food from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"The idea behind it is you can't buy unhealthy food with (your) food stamps," Hill said. " But a lot of the reason a lot of people buy unhealthy food is because of food deserts."
Hill said these changes in health policy will lead to wider health care disparities across the country.
Franco-Chavez, in contrast, said the policies Kennedy supports will be the simplest and most effective way to focus on disease prevention.
She discussed accountability for pharmaceutical companies, better nutrition standards, regenerative therapy and Kennedy's directive to eliminate the FDA's self-affirming Substances Generally Recognized as Safe Final Rule.
"Focusing on the simple ways to be healthy that don't have to cost a lot of money is where we need to start," she said in a written statement.
But Johnson said Kennedy's policies might be shortsighted because of the complexities of health and access.
"These ideas might seem like a good idea on the surface, but they may lead to changes that are simply more expensive for us rather than healthier," she said in a written statement.
Lohse and Hill also had concerns about students going into health-related fields, especially if they were interested in research that might no longer be funded.
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"The politicians now in power also threaten to take away the data that can help us treat the diseases of today and develop cures for tomorrow," Lohse said.
Hill said that less funding could potentially lead to fewer job opportunities in an already understaffed health industry, which would be worrying for both health care workers and patients.
"The big issue for me was being able to make sure I can work or go to the health care provider in a state that gives women good access to health care," he said.
Both sides of the political aisle believe misinformation in health policy is a growing problem that can negatively impact people's wellness, lifestyles and careers — even if they disagree on which policies are correct.
"You cannot separate politics from health, because politics will impact every aspect of your health," Johnson said in a written statement. "When the public is misinformed it can impact all of us."
Turning Point USA at ASU and the Arizona Department of Health Services declined a request for comment. College Republicans at ASU and the Make America Healthy Again PAC did not respond to a request for comment.
Edited by Abigail Beck, Sophia Ramirez, Sophia Braccio, and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at pkfung@asu.edu and follow @FungPippa on X.
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Pippa is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with minors in political science and German. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Blaze Radio and the Los Alamos National Lab.
