Research On The Characteristics And Mechanisms Of Medicaland Health Expert Opinion Leaders In The Context Of COVID-19 Pandemic

The impact of public health events on society and human beings is profound and extensive.However,the dissemination of a large amount of information during such events can lead to negative phenomena such as "information overload." Opinion leaders play an active role in addressing these issues.During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020,medical and health expert opinion leaders such as Nanshan Zhong and Lanjuan Li gained widespread public attention due to their actions,appeals,and initiatives related to the pandemic.The public is more willing to believe and adopt the advice given by medical and health experts,and adjust pandemic prevention behaviors according to their requirements.Based on this,this study conducts a detailed analysis of the specific characteristics and mechanisms behind the influence of medical and health expert opinion leaders on public behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.The elaboration likelihood model is used as the theoretical framework.Firstly,the study summarizes the characteristic factors of medical and health expert opinion leaders and their information during the COVID-19 pandemic.Secondly,the study constructs a theoretical model of user behavior,including the quality of user-perceived information,the credibility of information sources,and attitude(cognitive evaluation and emotional experience).Thirdly,the public’s evaluation data on medical and health experts are collected through questionnaire surveys.Finally,the study uses the partial least squares structural equation model for statistical analysis and model testing.The research findings are summarized as follows: Firstly,during the COVID-19 epidemic,the timeliness,accuracy,and practicality of information released by medical and health experts have a significant positive impact on users’ perception of information quality,with accuracy having the greatest impact,followed by practicality,and timeliness having the least impact.Users’ perception of information quality will further affect their attitude,which will directly affect their health and information dissemination behavior.Secondly,the professionalism and reputation of medical and health experts have a significant positive impact on users’ evaluation of source credibility,and the credibility of the source will further affect user attitude and behavior,with source professionalism having a higher impact than source reputation.Thirdly,users’ perception of information quality affects user behavior through the central path,while users’ evaluation of the credibility of information sources affects user behavior through the peripheral path.Finally,user attitude plays a partial mediating role between user information quality perception and behavior,as well as between user information source credibility perception and behavior.These conclusions can help optimize the response strategies medical and health experts when facing risk environments and provide a scientific basis for relevant departments to utilize medical and health expert opinion leaders to guide public opinion during public health events.