Abstract
In China, the utilization of medical resources is contentious, and a large of hospitals are seriously congested because of the huge population and uneven distribution of medical resources. Online health communities (OHCs) provide patients with platforms to interact with physicians and to get professional suggestions and emotional support. This study adopted the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology to identify factors influencing patients’ behavioral intention and usage behavior when interacting with physicians in OHCs. An investigation involving 378 valid responses was conducted through several Chinese OHCs to collect data. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were utilized to test hypotheses. Both the reliability and validity of the scales were acceptable. All five hypotheses were supported, and behavioral intention played a significant mediating role between independent variables and dependent variables. This study clarified the mechanism by which performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and attitude toward using technology affect usage behavior through the mediation of behavioral intention in OHCs. These findings suggest that OHCs can change the actions of websites such as adopting some incentives to promote patients’ intention of interaction. Physicians should understand patients’ actual attitudes toward OHCs and try to guide patients in their interactions, improving the quality of physician–patient interaction.
Highlights
In China, the utilization of medical resources is contentious, and most hospitals are seriously congested because of the huge population and uneven distribution of medical resources
We clarified the mechanism by which performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and attitude toward using technology affect usage behavior through the mediation of behavioral intention in Online health communities (OHCs)
Physicians can increase the frequency of interacting with patients in OHCs and strengthen their reputation to improve their social influence
Summary
In China, the utilization of medical resources is contentious, and most hospitals are seriously congested because of the huge population and uneven distribution of medical resources. Online health communities (OHCs) can alleviate this situation to a certain extent. Patients can seek health information and communicate with physicians to acquire specialized suggestions and emotional support through OHCs [2,3,4], so they can diagnose themselves with some simple diseases and protect their privacy when they have a stigmatized illness [5,6]. Physicians can publish health-related articles, share health information, and answer patients’ questions to help patients and improve their social reputation [7]. In OHCs, patients can flexibly ask for help at any time, and physicians can answer patients’ questions when they are unoccupied, improving the utilization of physicians’ time [3,5,6]
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