Reliability of Sources

Reliability of Sources

Three-quarters of Canadians consider their family doctor (76 per cent) and other health care professionals (75 per cent) to be the most reliable sources of information. Seven in ten think that the scientific research community is reliable, while two-thirds consider Health Canada a reliable source (67 per cent). Less than half think that someone infected with HIV and the Government of Canada in general are reliable (48 and 45 per cent, respectively) and one-quarter considers their own family and friends reliable sources of information (24 per cent). The media received the lowest reliability ratings among Canadians (18 per cent).

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• The reliability of doctors as a source of information is consistent across all demographic groups.
  
• Youth (87 per cent) and university graduates (81 per cent) are more likely than others to consider other health care professionals to be a reliable source, as are those with high knowledge of HIV/AIDS and individuals who tend not to distance themselves from the issue. Residents in the Prairies (63 per cent), seniors (54 per cent), the lowest income earners (64 per cent) and those with low self-rated knowledge of HIV/AIDS (65 per cent) are less likely to view this group as reliable.
  
• The perceived reliability of the scientific research community increases with education and income and decreases with age. People who have children who are younger than their teens (77 per cent) and those with high actual or perceived knowledge of HIV/AIDS are also more likely to see this group as a reliable source than other Canadians, as do people who tend not to distance themselves from HIV/AIDS.
  
• Those between the ages of 25 and 34 (80 per cent) and higher education and income individuals are more likely to think that Health Canada is a reliable information source, as are people who have children who are younger than their teens (81 per cent) and those who do not distance themselves from HIV/AIDS.
  
• There is a higher likelihood for residents in the Atlantic region and those with a college level of education to consider organizations representing the interests of people infected with HIV/AIDS as reliable information sources (71 per cent each group) compared with other Canadians. This is also true of individuals between the ages of 25 and 34 (69 per cent), those with a high actual or perceived knowledge of HIV/AIDS and women (65 per cent), as well as among individuals least likely to distance themselves from HIV/AIDS.
  
• Individuals who know someone with the disease (53 per cent) and people who tend not to distance themselves from HIV/AIDS are more likely to see a person infected with HIV/AIDS as a reliable source. Senior citizens, those born outside Canada, and university graduates are least likely to do so (38, 40, and 41 per cent, respectively).
  
• People who have children who are younger than their teens and who have a high actual or self-rated knowledge of HIV/AIDS are more apt to see the federal government in general as a reliable source of information (52 per cent each group). People over 65 (35 per cent), those with low education and income, and people who have low self-rated knowledge of HIV/AIDS (34 per cent) are less likely to consider the Government of Canada as a reliable information source.
  
• Residents of Quebec are somewhat more apt to consider their own family and friends to be reliable sources (29 per cent), whereas those in Alberta and British Columbia are slightly less likely to do so (18 and 19 per cent, respectively). Lower education and income individuals and people with low knowledge are also more likely to view their family and friends as reliable sources of information.
  
• Residents of Quebec and people with a high self-rated knowledge of HIV/AIDS (23 per cent) are more likely to think that the media is a reliable information source (26 per cent), while those in British Columbia and youth are less apt to do so (12 per cent each group).