Abstract
BackgroundBoth doctors and consumers have engaged in using social media for health purposes. Social media has changed traditional one-to-one communication between doctors and patients to many-to-many communication between doctors and consumers. However, little is known about the effect of doctor-consumer interaction on consumers’ health behaviors.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media affects consumers’ health behaviors.MethodsOn the basis of professional-client interaction theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interactions influence consumers’ health behaviors through declarative knowledge (DK), self-efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancy (OE). To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method and developed corresponding measurement instruments for constructs in our research model. A total of 352 valid answers were collected, and partial least square was performed to analyze the data.ResultsInstrumental doctor-consumer interaction was found to influence consumers’ DK (t294=5.763, P<.001), SE (t294=4.891, P<.001), and OE (t294=7.554, P<.001) significantly, whereas affective doctor-consumer interaction also impacted consumers’ DK (t294=4.025, P<.001), SE (t294=4.775, P<.001), and OE (t294=4.855, P<.001). Meanwhile, consumers’ DK (t294=3.838, P<.001), SE (t294=3.824, P<.001), and OE (t294=2.985, P<.01) all significantly affected consumers’ health behaviors. Our mediation analysis showed that consumers’ DK, SE, and OE partially mediated the effect of instrumental interaction on health behaviors, whereas the three mediators fully mediated the effect of affective interaction on health behaviors.ConclusionsCompared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as a natural cost-effective intervention to promote consumers’ health behaviors. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. DK, SE, and OE are working mechanisms of doctor-consumer interaction.
Highlights
BackgroundSocial media is penetrating people’s daily life and influencing their health-related activities
The results revealed that declarative knowledge (DK), SE, and outcome expectancy (OE) significantly influenced consumers’ health behaviors
By using the advanced bootstrapping method, we discovered that the effect of instrumental interaction on health behaviors was partially mediated by DK, SE, and OE, whereas the effect of affective interaction on health behaviors was fully mediated by the above mediators
Summary
BackgroundSocial media is penetrating people’s daily life and influencing their health-related activities. More than 60% of doctors use various forms of social media for personal or professional reasons, and this percentage has been increasing in recent years [5] Both consumers and doctors have engaged in using social media to disseminate health-related information, and social media could be an important medium for interactions between doctors and consumers. Methods: On the basis of professional-client interaction theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction These two types of interactions influence consumers’ health behaviors through declarative knowledge (DK), self-efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancy (OE). Conclusions: Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as a natural cost-effective intervention to promote consumers’ health behaviors Both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. DK, SE, and OE are working mechanisms of doctor-consumer interaction
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