Exploring Users' Health Behavior Changes in Online Health Communities: Heuristic-Systematic Perspective Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Communication
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Internet technology offers solutions to medical resource shortages.
• Online health communities (OHCs) provide accessible health information and support.
• Understanding user engagement in OHCs is crucial for advancing internet medicine and public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factors influencing user engagement in OHCs.
• To examine the impact of OHC engagement on health behavior change (HBC).
• To validate the applicability of the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) and Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) in the context of OHCs.

Main Methods:

• Developed a research model based on PADM and HSM.
• Created and validated a questionnaire with seven constructs.
• Utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data from 290 OHC users.

Main Results:

• Perceived benefits positively influence information needs, which in turn promotes engagement in OHCs (R² = 0.387).
• Engagement in OHCs significantly and positively impacts health behavior change (beta = 0.314, p < 0.001).
• OHCs facilitate health behavior change indirectly through systematic information processing (beta = 0.252, p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• The PADM and HSM effectively explain user health behavior changes within OHCs.
• Practitioners can leverage influence processes within OHCs for health promotion via mHealth.
• Findings highlight the role of OHCs in driving positive health behavior change.