A sweeping global survey challenges the idea that national wealth guarantees better digital health skills. Researchers found adults in lower-income countries often outperform those in wealthier nations — and AI-generated health content is far more accepted in some regions than others.
People in lower-income countries are more adept at evaluating digital health information than their counterparts in wealthier nations, according to a new study that surveyed more than 31,000 adults across 30 countries — the largest cross-national investigation of its kind.
The findings, published in Nature Health, overturn a common assumption in global public health: that economic development naturally produces stronger digital literacy. Instead, researchers found that countries where social media has become a dominant route to health information tended to show higher levels of skill in judging the quality of that content.
What the Study Found
Led by researchers at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), with collaborators at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the University of Alabama and Baraka Impact Finance / Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)in Geneva, the survey was conducted online in late August and early September 2025. It reached adults 18 and older in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the United States.
Across all 30 countries, medical providers were the most trusted source of health information, cited by 40.7% of respondents. Verifying information through multiple sources came in second at 31.2%, followed by government sources at 21.6%. Only 6.5% turned to family or friends. Trust in medical providers was notably low in Russia, where just 14.6% of respondents named them as a go-to source.
Acceptance of AI-generated health content varied dramatically. Globally, 58.3% of respondents said they would likely accept AI-produced health information, but national rates ranged widely. More than 75% of respondents in China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia expressed openness to it, while acceptance fell below 50% in Canada, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, France, the UK, Australia, Belgium, Russia, Sweden and Japan. Younger adults and those with post-secondary education were consistently more receptive to AI-generated content.
“Digital skill is not a function of national wealth,” lead author Rachael Piltch-Loeb, an assistant professor at CUNY SPH, said in a news release. “Some of the highest digital health literacy in our data was in countries where social media has become a primary route to health information. The patterns we see also suggest that the same message will not work everywhere, and that public health communicators need to plan for clarity, transparent sourcing, and format diversity rather than assume audiences are interchangeable.”
Why It Matters for Students and Young People
For college students and young professionals who routinely turn to social media, search engines and increasingly AI chatbots for health guidance, the study offers both validation and a warning. The research confirms that young adults ages 18 to 29 are the demographic most likely to rely on social media for health information — 36.1% named it their primary channel, compared with just 10.6% of those 60 and older. Older respondents leaned more heavily on clinic brochures and patient information leaflets.
But the data also underscore that being a frequent user of digital health content is not the same as being a skilled evaluator of it. Across all countries, respondents most valued health information that is easy to access, easy to understand, and clearly identifies its source — qualities that are not always present in the fast-moving world of social media health content.
Source: CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy