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http://hdl.handle.net/10397/105223
Title: | Understanding online health information seeking behavior of older adults : a social cognitive perspective | Authors: | Ma, X Liu, Y Zhang, P Qi, R Meng, F |
Issue Date: | 2023 | Source: | Frontiers in public health, 2023, v. 11, 1147789 | Abstract: | Introduction: Online health information seeking has been verified to play a crucial role in improving public health and has received close scholarly attention. However, the seeking behavior of older adults, especially the underlying mechanism through which they are motivated to seek health information online, remains unclear. This study addresses the issue by proposing a theoretical model leveraging social cognitive theory. Methods: IT self-efficacy and IT innovativeness were identified as personal factors and professional support and social support were identified as environmental factors. We conducted a survey that included 347 older people in China and examined the research hypotheses with a structural equation model. Results: IT self-efficacy and IT innovativeness facilitate older adults to seek health information online by increasing their perceived benefit of using the internet. Additionally, professional support and social support enhanced older adults' online seeking behavior by promoting their health awareness. We also found that perceived benefit displayed a stronger impact than health awareness on older adults' behavior related to searching for health information online. Conclusion: This study reveals that IT self-efficacy, IT innovativeness, professional support, and social support will promote older adults to seek health information online by enhancing their health awareness and perceived benefit. The findings of this study provide significant theoretical and practical implications. |
Keywords: | Health awareness Older adults Online health information seeking Perceived benefit Social cognitive theory |
Publisher: | Frontiers Research Foundation | Journal: | Frontiers in public health | ISSN: | 2296-2565 | DOI: | 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1147789 | Rights: | Copyright © 2023 Ma, Liu, Zhang, Qi and Meng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. The following publication Ma X, Liu Y, Zhang P, Qi R and Meng F (2023) Understanding online health information seeking behavior of older adults: A social cognitive perspective. Front. Public Health 11:1147789 is available at https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1147789. |
Appears in Collections: | Journal/Magazine Article |
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