Predicting and Empowering Health for Generation Z by Comparing Health Information Seeking and Digital Health...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Communication
• Public Health

Background:

• Generation Z (born 1995-2010) are digital natives who increasingly use online resources for health information.
• This demographic often has distinct health information-seeking preferences compared to older generations.
• Scholarly research has historically overlooked the digital health behaviors of Generation Z.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the health information-seeking preferences of Generation Z and older adults.
• To predict the impact of digital health literacy and health empowerment on health information seeking in both groups.
• To determine factors influencing digital health engagement and self-health control.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey.
• Analyzed 1862 valid survey responses from Chinese participants.
• Employed descriptive analysis, 2-tailed t tests, and multiple linear regression.

Main Results:

• Generation Z (53.44%) predominantly uses the internet for health information, unlike older generations relying on traditional methods.
• Digital health literacy significantly predicts web-based health information seeking in both Generation Z (β=.192) and older adults (β=.337).
• Consulting physicians positively predicts health empowerment for Generation Z (β=.070) and older adults (β=.089), despite Generation Z's lower overall health empowerment levels.

Conclusions:

• Generation Z and older adults exhibit different health information-seeking behaviors and preferences.
• Digital health literacy and health empowerment are key factors related to information-seeking behaviors.
• Interventions should consider these differences to enhance digital health literacy and empowerment across generations.