Health Content Mistakes: Is Your Brand Credible?

The Trust Problem in Health Content

Building brand credibility is essential for becoming a trusted source of health information. Trust is the most valuable commodity when it comes to health information. Gaining your audience's trust doesn’t happen overnight with a few basic blog posts. It develops over months to years with consistent, reliable content.

This is why a single slip-up with the health information can cause an organization to lose credibility with its audience overnight. All the time and effort the brand put in are undone by the error, and skepticism rises. What’s more, rebuilding that credibility can take longer the second time around.

Recognizing why trust is the most valuable commodity in health information helps brands and organizations understand its importance. Health information can quite literally be life-threatening or life-changing. For this reason, the audience should use a great deal of skepticism when reviewing health content.

For brands, knowing how to avoid health content credibility mistakes can maintain an organization’s credibility and end-user confidence, whether they are medical professionals or average health consumers.

Mistake #1: Citing Outdated or Low-Quality Sources

Researchers and the health industry are regularly updating information. This was obvious to the world during the COVID pandemic, when information changed rapidly as science was updated. Staying up to date on the latest research and science is essential for any health organization that provides health information. The first step is to determine whether you are referencing outdated or low-quality sources.

One red flag for this is the age of the source. Outdated sources put the end user at risk. When drug manufacturers announce new side effects, dosage changes, or uses for a medication, that information needs to reach healthcare professionals and consumers accurately and in a timely fashion. If your team is reporting on outdated information, there is a real legal risk of harming your readers.

A good example of this is the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) treatments. Just a few years ago, these medications were almost exclusively used for the treatment of diabetes. Now, GLP-1s treat obesity, addiction, and cardiovascular disease. If an organization is still using information from 2018, the sources are outdated, making their information unreliable and risking medical content errors.

Low-quality sources are also problematic. You see this when a brand references a non-peer-reviewed study, a study written using AI, or one that contains false information. Sometimes the use of AI and the lack of review are obvious when the AI language is left in the text, with terms like “continue prompt” or “certainly, here is…” Less obvious is when the researcher just keeps citing their own work, or when the AI generates fake citations. The lack of peer review can leave these mistakes unchecked and also promote misinformation.

The best example of this is from the 1990s, when a published study falsely claimed the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism in children. The fallout from this misinformation led to a large drop in parents vaccinating their children worldwide. Since then, pockets of measles outbreaks have begun and continue to occur today. This is due to the vaccination rates in these areas falling below the 96%-99% needed to achieve herd immunity.

Health organizations can avoid these issues by seeking high-quality sources. This can include:

• Peer-reviewed studies. These are studies that have other researchers review the work for errors or questionable findings.

• National Institute of Health (NIH). This organization is a good source for peer-reviewed research and vetted, up-to-date health information.

• Clinical guidelines. Many national health organizations publish guidelines for managing health conditions. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Endocrine Society are just a few examples.

Mistake #2: Overpromising or Using Absolute Language

Absolute language should not exist in health content. Words such as ‘cure,’ ‘guaranteed,’ ‘always,’ and ‘proven’ should raise red flags for any reader. In reality, it is hard to find anything absolute in healthcare. This type of language is overpromising to your readers, and they know it.

In my nursing role, I’ve counseled many patients about health information that promises absolutes. I teach them to weed these out or take the information with a grain of salt. We discuss why absolute language doesn’t work for healthcare. Which really doesn’t make the brand seem trustworthy.

When creating health content, organizations and writers should find ways to use compelling language without overpromising. Learn how to replace superlatives with more accurate terms that better define the information you’re trying to convey.

Mistake #3: Writing for Google Instead of the Patient

 

Keyword stuffing is an old mistake, but one I still see brands make. It’s easy to spot and makes the content clunky to read. When organizations do this, they forget that the end user is a real person. This also applies to content that skimps on real health information.

Health professionals, including doctors and nurses, may find the information unhelpful, as can patients. The content should be informative and practical for the audience, not superficial. It’s like the difference in reading a book report written by a 6th grader versus a teacher explaining the complexities of Animal Farm to the same class.

Focus on producing high-quality content with a purpose. After all, this is why users go to your site. Make sure the content is thorough and accurate. This may mean longer pieces instead of just small blog posts. Give resources that are actually helpful for patients and medical personnel. Broaden your range of topics – if it’s not there, users won’t find you when they search.

The search engines value high-quality content. Including author information for the content signals that your content is of better quality. More so if the health content is written or reviewed by someone with a healthcare background. Include author and/or reviewer bios that list their expertise and accreditation.

SEO still has a place, but there is a nuanced balance to attracting the search engines while still providing health information with genuine educational value. Brands gain more credibility when they use medical reviewers and health writers. Not just by the search engines. Your end readers will also put more value on the content.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Ethical Guardrails

There is a big difference between health education and medical advice. Health education is general information on a health topic that explains what it is and how it affects the end reader. The purpose is to help them understand a condition so that they can better care for themselves.

For example, Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure. Hypertension can come from eating foods high in salt or sodium, stress, or genetics. Chronic hypertension can lead to other health problems, such as heart disease, a heart attack, or stroke. There are medications to treat hypertension. If you have hypertension, consider speaking to your healthcare provider.

Medical advice is recommendations specific to one person rather than general advice that works for most people. When a healthcare provider gives advice, they consider a patient’s history, physical well-being, risk, and context. For example, when choosing a blood pressure medication for a patient, the healthcare provider considers the patient's age, other medications, any other heart issues, and lab results.  

A skilled writer can create good general health information. However, if you’re taking a deep dive into a health topic, explaining a complex issue, or giving actionable advice, you need a medical reviewer. This type of content includes:

• Treatment and diagnostic information, including procedures, medications, and diagnostic tests.

• Actionable advice, such as self-care tips, exercise routines, or diet plans.

• Topics on serious health topics, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or information for high-risk populations.

• Any specialized content that could cause harm if inaccurate, such as mental health tips, medication dosages, or symptom reviews.

A medical reviewer provides your quality control by ensuring the information is up to date, accurate, and free from misleading information. They can ensure medical jargon is avoided while still meeting professional standards for patient information. Having a medical reviewer is essential for most medical content.

Mistake #5: One-Size-Fits-All

Audiences differ in many ways. Age, income, and education level are just a few of the core differences. Knowing the audience you’re trying to reach helps your writer better engage them with content and a tone that’s appropriate and relevant. A 25-year-old wellness consumer who grew up tech savvy is not going to want the same tone or information as a 57-year-old dealing with chronic health issues.

Gynecological care is a clear example. The 25-year-old looks for birth control and pregnancy info; the 57-year-old faces vaginal atrophy and menopause questions. Their well-woman exam concerns are very different.

Attempting to write one-size-fits-all content doesn’t work. It will feel flat and won’t engage or connect with your audience. It can show a lack of experience with the writing team. Having worked with patients across the life spectrum, nurse writers will intuitively know to adjust the tone of the writing to match the target audience.

Creating Credibility With Health Content

Standing out in today’s information overload can feel like an uphill battle. Establishing credibility will ease that climb. Having a writer with a health background goes a long way in building credibility because trust is in the details, and no one understands health care like a healthcare provider. If your team is looking to create trustworthy content for your audience, the Provider Perspective can help. Creating accurate and useful information is at the core of what I do. Connect with me today to get started.