The Dark Side of Health Misinformation: How Desperate People Get Exploited with Hannah McElhinney
About this episode
Osher Günsberg and Hannah McElhinney discuss the impact of health misinformation on individuals with chronic illness and the exploitation that can occur in the search for answers.
In this powerful conversation, Osher Gunsberg sits down with journalist and author Hannah McElhinney to explore the complex world of chronic illness, medical misinformation, and what can happen when people lose trust in the systems designed to help them. Hannah shares the deeply personal story that inspired her latest book - the loss of her cousin Lauren, and the journey to understand how someone searching for answers to chronic pain and illness could become drawn into alternative treatments, online health communities, and misinformation. Having had his own experience with chronic pain, Osher and Hannah unpack the desperation that drives some people to seek out alternative solutions, the need to feel heard, and the longing for a diagnosis or treatment when conventional medicine doesn’t have easy answers. They also discuss health anxiety, patient mistrust, medical misogyny, systemic failures within healthcare systems, and how vulnerable people can be exploited by those offering certainty and “miracle” cures. Hannah and Osher also explore why empathy matters when talking about health misinformation — and why understanding someone’s experience is often…
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