Reasons 1 and 2: Mistrust of Experts and Personal Autonomy
Almost everyone has had at least one bad experience with the health care system—particularly in the United States, where both insurance and health care delivery lack consistency and coordination. And historically, certain groups—such as women and people of color—have faced discrimination and inequities in health care. Those bad experiences with health care can lead to mistrust of clinicians and the entire health care system.
Greater “body autonomy” (which used to be predominantly related to women’s reproductive choices) dramatically expanded during the COVID pandemic, along with the concept of medical “freedom of choice” related to vaccine requirements and mask recommendations.
Combining those two characteristics—mistrust of the health care system and personal autonomy—can make people primed to look elsewhere for answers to their health care questions and needs. A diverse industry has developed to fill that need. Specifically, individuals and organizations take advantage of people’s mistrust of health care by providing alternative information (a.k.a., “alternative facts”) about how to treat their health problems or improve their overall health.