This study explores customer-to-customer co-creation and co-destruction practices within social media health communities, focusing on diabetes-related customer interactions on Facebook and YouTube. Based on the existing understanding of C2C interaction, the study explores how individuals integrate resources within social media health communities to enhance well-being. The study adopts a netnography approach and analyses 536 textual posts along with nested comments (spanning 28,965 words). The findings reveal three dimensions, encompassing nine co-creative and co-destructive customer-to-customer practices in online social media health communities. The findings provide implications for healthcare providers, social media moderators, and policymakers, emphasizing the need to empower patients while safeguarding against potential harm on social media platforms. This study contributes to health marketing by theorizing how peer-to-peer interactions simultaneously generate value and risk in loosely regulated digital health environments.

Trust is a critical determinant of vaccine acceptance, particularly in large-scale public health campaigns. This study examines how four dimensions of trust—safety, transparency, competence, and accessibility—were perceived differently in India’s polio eradication and COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Using a cross-sectional survey of urban and rural respondents aged 35–50 in North India, the study explores how trust varies by educational attainment and geographical setting. Findings reveal that the polio campaign benefited from sustained interpersonal engagement, while the digitally driven COVID-19 campaign faced challenges in trust-building, particularly among highly educated and rural populations. Trust was significantly associated with vaccine uptake, highlighting its role as a behavioral catalyst. The study identifies key gaps in health marketing strategies and underscores the need for differentiated communication tailored to demographic contexts. Recommendations include adopting longitudinal and experimental designs to better understand trust dynamics and leveraging digital and interpersonal outreach to strengthen public health engagement.

This study is first to examine the link between using social media as a primary COVID-19 information source and preventive behavior, while examining moderating effects. Using the O-S-R-O-R model and panel survey data from Germany (N = 776), it finds a negative direct effect of informational social media use on preventive behavior, and a negative indirect effect through conspiracy beliefs. However, the negative impact is less pronounced in individuals with high knowledge and trust in science. These findings underscore the importance of accurate, comprehensive social media communication, especially in crises, and have practical implications for policymakers and scientific institutions.

Physical activity, defined as “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle that results in energy expenditure” has the potential to mitigate some of the high rates of noncommunicable diseases, which autistic individuals are more susceptible to than are their peers; however, physical inactivity remains a challenge in this population. Unique drivers and barriers have been identified in previous research, but these are rarely described in a practitioner-friendly way that might inform intervention design and delivery. Taking a novel segmentation approach, this research aims to draw on behavioral science frameworks to describe groups or “Personas” that can be considered in intervention implementation. Results identified three distinct segments in the sample. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed sufficient group differences between capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior framework (COM-B) constructs to form clusters (p < 0.001 for all). Qualitative themes included reframing and disguising physical activity, lack of self-efficacy, social comparison, unsuitable physical activity environments, strong interests, and sensory challenges. Three Personas were described as the Interested and Engaged, the Unsure and Uncertain, and the Uneasy and Averse.

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, this scoping review combines bibliometric and systematic analyses of 50 studies selected from 1,870 records screened for mobile health applications published between 2013 and 2024. The review identifies publication trends, conceptual structures, and key variables used in research. The findings reveal five thematic clusters under two main themes: user-centered experiences and psychological dimensions (1) and system-level design and health service integration (2). Although research on mobile health applications has grown rapidly, previous reviews lacked an integrated approach combining conceptual mapping with applied insights. This study addresses that gap by offering a foundation for future research and ecosystem development.

Young adults often encounter and share misinformation in desirable social media messages. This process, challenging to disrupt, can contribute to substance misuse. This study tested whether a novel, meme-style, infographic-based media literacy intervention could mitigate effects of appealing but misleading substance use-related social media content for U.S. adults aged 18–29 (N = 1201). Results of a mixed between-subjects factorial, post-test-only online experiment detected small effects on expectancies for tobacco use among adults aged 18–20 and on intent to avoid sharing misinformation among adults aged 27–29. These age differences suggest that media literacy interventions can benefit by segmenting strategies according to cognitive and emotional communication processes that are associated with neurocognitive and social characteristics of young adults. For example, emerging adults may benefit from digital messages that focus on refuting short-term emotional benefits offered by social media misinformation. Adults in their late-20s may be interested in the logical ramifications of sharing misinformation.

Given the global importance of safe sex practices, understanding what drives condom purchase intention (CPI) among young people is especially critical in emerging regions. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior and protection motivation theory, this study scrutinizes the associations between self-efficacy (SE), perceived behavioral control (PBC), subjective norms (SNs), comfort in purchasing (CIP), information regarding sexually transmitted infections (IRSTIs), embarrassment about negotiation (EAN) and CPI among Generation Z. This study employed a mixed-methods design to examine these relationships in the context of Vietnam, a developing country. Using a sample of 318 participants, the results show that SE, PBC, IRSTIs, and EAN are associated with CPI, whereas SNs and CIP are not. Moreover, the connection between SNs and CPI is weaker among single individuals than partnered ones. Findings offer theoretical and managerial implications, contributing to literature on decision-making concerning safe sex practices, preventive behaviors, and condom marketing in developing nations.

Belief perseverance poses a significant challenge to health marketing campaigns seeking to correct consumer misconceptions. This study explores why consumers persist in inaccurate health-related beliefs despite exposure to substantial disconfirming evidence. Using a survey and qualitative assessment of 153 undergraduate and graduate students, we measured subjective beliefs about organic food benefits before and after presenting factual evidence that contradicted those beliefs. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses identified five distinct subsets of belief perseverance, i.e. Discreditors, Debaters, Skeptics, Upholders, and Fencers, each exhibiting different cognitive and emotional rationales for resisting belief change. Findings reveal that emotional attachment and motivated reasoning often override rational processing, limiting the effectiveness of purely informational interventions. The study provides practical recommendations for health marketers, including the use of affirmation framing, credible message sources, and adaptive corrective strategies tailored to consumer typologies. Implications are discussed for designing campaigns to overcome belief perseverance and promote positive health behavior change.

This study examines the drivers of continued telemedicine use in the post-COVID-19 era by integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with the Health Belief Model (HBM) and introducing credibility as the linking mechanism between the two frameworks. An online survey of prior telemedicine users in South Korea produced 329 valid responses. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, we find that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence significantly increase behavioral intention, which in turn promotes continued use. HBM beliefs (perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and self-efficacy) increase credibility, and credibility mediates their influence on behavioral intention and continued use. Results indicate that continued engagement depends on both technology evaluations and psychological determinants, particularly credibility. The findings can direct health marketing to prioritize credibility-anchored value propositions and clear processes over risk appeals, offering actionable guidance for government-supported telemedicine promotion initiatives.