Patients increasingly encounter unverified health information online. This, combined with long NHS waits and political uncertainty, accelerates the spread of misleading claims. False health content – including AI-generated material that appears authoritative despite being inaccurate – now travels faster and farther than ever.

Nursing staff encourage patients to advocate for themselves, but as more people arrive with misleading material sourced online, they play a growing role in correcting misinformation. This is becoming harder as algorithms shape what people see and AI tools make falsehoods more convincing.

The consequences are serious: MMR uptake in England has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade and far below the 95% needed for herd immunity (UK Government, 2025); the UK Health Security Agency declared a national measles incident in January 2024 (UK Government, 2024), a child died in Liverpool in July 2025 (LSHTM, 2025); and a large measles outbreak occurred in North East London in February 2026 (Wise, 2026).

Misinformation also harms adults: in 2024, 23-year-old Paloma Shemirani died after her mother promoted a strict organic diet instead of chemotherapy (Bevan, 2025).

Scotland has taken a lead in helping the nursing workforce and the wider health and social care system respond effectively to the rapidly evolving information environment with the introduction of The Health Information Integrity Strategy (Scottish Government, 2025).

How can nursing staff protect patients’ wellbeing while confidently challenging unsafe beliefs—and what support do they need to do so effectively?

References

Bevan N (2025) ‘Anti-vax’ woman died after refusing chemotherapy. Available at: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6nqz0j03xo (Accessed 24 March 2026).

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2025) Expert Comment: Child dies in Liverpool after contracting measles. Available at: lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2025/expert-comment-child-dies-liverpool-after-contracting-measles (Accessed 24 March 2026).

Scottish Government (2025) Scottish Health Information Integrity Strategy. Available at: gov.scot/publications/scottish-health-information-integrity-strategy/ (Accessed 24 March 2026).

UK Government (2025) Cover of vaccination evaluated rapidly (COVER) programme: annual data. Available at: gov.uk/government/publications/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-annual-data (Accessed 24 March 2026).

UK Government (2024) Measles outbreak could spread warns UKHSA Chief Executive. Available at: gov.uk/government/news/measles-outbreak-could-spread-warns-ukhsa-chief-executive (Accessed 24 March 2026).

Wise J (2026) Measles outbreak confirmed in London, BMJ, 392. doi: 10.1136/bmj.s316.