Associations of Health Literacy, Social Media Use, and Self-Efficacy With Health Information-Seeking Intentions Among Social Media Users in China: Cross-sectional Survey.

Zhaomeng Niu,Jessica Willoughby,Rongting Zhou

doi:10.2196/19134

Abstract

BackgroundEmpirical research has demonstrated that people frequently use social media for gathering and sharing online health information. Health literacy, social media use, and self-efficacy are important factors that may influence people’s health behaviors online.ObjectiveWe aimed to examine the associations between health literacy, health-related social media use, self-efficacy, and health behavioral intentions online.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of adults 18 years and older (n=449) to examine predictors of health-related behavioral intentions online including health literacy, social media use, and self-efficacy in China using 2 moderated mediation models. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted.ResultsSelf-efficacy mediated the effects of health literacy (Bindirect=0.213, 95% CI 0.101 to 0.339) and social media use (Bindirect=0.023, 95% CI 0.008 to 0.045) on health behavioral intentions on social media. Age moderated the effects of health literacy on self-efficacy (P=.03), while previous experience moderated the effects of social media use on self-efficacy (P<.001).ConclusionsHealth literacy and health-related social media use influenced health behavioral intentions on social media via their prior effects on self-efficacy. The association between health literacy and self-efficacy was stronger among younger respondents, whereas the association between health-related social media use and self-efficacy was stronger among those who previously had positive experiences with health information on social media. Health practitioners should target self-efficacy among older populations and increase positive media experience related to health.

Highlights

The remarkably fast growth of the internet has made it a major source for information sharing and acquisition
The association between health literacy and self-efficacy was stronger among younger respondents, whereas the association between health-related social media use and self-efficacy was stronger among those who previously had positive experiences with health information on social media
Some studies [39,40] have examined the role of past experience and social media use individually, and some studies [18,20,21] have tested the associations between self-efficacy and other health outcomes; there are few empirical studies examining the relationship among health literacy, past experience, health-related social media use, and health behavioral intention on social media

Summary

Introduction

The remarkably fast growth of the internet has made it a major source for information sharing and acquisition. In the late 1990s, the internet became a main source for health information [1]. A study [3] found that, in China, 76.3% of computer-based users and 68.8% of mobile-based (eg, smartphone) users sought health information on the internet [3]. As of 2018, there were 317 million active users of Weibo and 1 billion users of WeChat, which are the 2 main social media sites in China [5]. Empirical research has demonstrated that people frequently use social media for gathering and sharing online health information. Social media use, and self-efficacy are important factors that may influence people’s health behaviors online

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion