Impact of mobile Internet use on health-seeking behaviors: evidence from China

Although health-seeking behaviors are crucial to China's healthcare delivery system, the influence of mobile Internet use in this context remains under-explored. This study aimed to comprehensively explore the influence of mobile Internet use on health-seeking behaviors, and meticulously examined the heterogeneity in health outcomes associated with the intersection between mobile Internet use and health-seeking behaviors.

We used nationally representative data derived from the China Family Panel Studies. Given that individuals typically make the decision to use mobile Internet autonomously, an instrumental variable regression methodology was adopted to mitigate potential selection biases.

Our findings revealed that mobile Internet use significantly promoted self-medication and adversely affected the use of primary care facilities among Chinese adults. Furthermore, our findings highlighted the heterogeneous effects of mobile Internet use across diverse health demographic groups.

These findings underscore the importance of strategic planning and utilizing mobile Internet resources to steer individuals toward more appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviors.