Clinician Recommendations for Discussing Online Health Information With Adolescents: A Qualitative Study.

Abstract

Adolescents frequently encounter online health information (OHI). We aimed to synthesize clinician recommendations for engaging adolescents about OHI during clinical encounters. United States clinicians with expertise in adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) participated in virtual semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were analyzed using rapid qualitative methods to generate descriptive themes. Twenty-four clinicians from all U.S. regions participated. Participants emphasized the importance of addressing OHI given its accessibility, ubiquity, broad topical relevance (eg, SRH, nutrition, vaccines), and variable health impacts (ie, positive and negative). Clinicians described 4 entry points for discussion: patient initiation, screening, topic-specific conversations, and resource provision. They suggested strategies to build digital literacy (eg, assessing content creator motivations) and health literacy (eg, contextualizing population risks without dismissing personal anecdotes). Communication approaches included acknowledging partial truths before providing medical context and avoiding blanket dismissal of online content. Clinicians advised against directly labeling patients' claims as "misinformation," recommending instead more neutral, patient-friendly language. As clinicians increasingly navigate OHI in practice, these expert recommendations can help support digital and health literacy while fostering trust and improving adolescent-clinician communication.