MASSDEVICE ON CALL — A pair of reports this week examined the repercussions of celebrity medical advice, from the recent backlash against Botox aesthetic facial injections to actress Jennie McCarthy’s avid repudiation of vaccines.
The power of celebrity can have a disproportionate influence in healthcare decisions. Famous actresses played a significant role in spurring demand for Botox beauty treatments, and now a growing Hollywood rejection of the product may mean trouble for manufacturer Allergan (NYSE:AGN), although sales of the product have yet to wane, according to the NY Post.
Researchers examining celebrity healthcare spokesmanship found that large numbers of people are heavily swayed by celebrity medical advice, even when "so much of it is ill-informed and some of it is potentially harmful." The paper, published in the a Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal, used social phenomenons such as "herding" and the "halo effect" to explain how celebrities so quickly gain credibility as influential "medical advisors."
The researchers recommended that doctors talk to their patients about celebrity healthcare advice and to shed some light on the credibility of some of the claims made by Hollywood’s darlings in order to "cement themselves as sources of reputable information."
"We need to rethink and better understand where people obtain their health information and what makes them act upon it," the researchers said. "Understanding why people follow celebrities’ medical advice represents a good start."
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