Empirical Research On Impact Of Internet Use On Individual Heatlh Behaviors

Health is one of the most important issues in human society. There is no doubt that health is very important to individuals. Actually, the health level of individuals also has huge impact on the national economy and social development. Experts point that the health level of individuals is determined largely by health behaviors. A lot of diseases are caused by unhealthy behaviors.Media, which has strong agenda setting function, is the main platform and channel for health communication. If we can use this agenda setting function properly and adequately, we can inform the public health information better, and make the change of heatlh behaviors and health attitudes possible. However, studies show that mass media, such as newspaper, magzine, broadcast and TV, has done little in changing health attitudes and health behaviors. Although mass media has huge coverage, compared to interpersonal communication media, mass media is not good at persuading. The Internet has developed very rapidly, and it combines the strengths of mass media and interpersonal communication media, it certainly will become the ideal tool to promote the public to adopt health attitudes and health behaviors.Scholars have found that the health related internet use did affect heatlh behaviors. However, studies didn't tell us how this influence happened. What is the influence mechanism between the heatlh related internet use and heatlh behaviors? This is not only a theoretical meaningful but also a practical meaningful research question.Based on KAP, SCT and TPB, and by using the SEM statistic method, our study analyzes the influence mechanism of heatlh related internet use on individual health behaviors. Is it direct effect or indirect effect or both? If there are indirect effects, what is the mediator? And is there any moderator in this causal relationship? We set up a research model about the causal relationship between heatlh related internet use and health behaviors and put forward thirteen research hypotheses. We selected four universites purposely from the universities in Wuhan, which are Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan University, Hubei University of Economics and Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wenhua College. From all the dormitory buildings in these four universities, we picked out thirty buildings by using random number table. Then we systemly sampled some dormitories in buildings and accidentally chose respondents. Respondents finised the qustionnaires by themselves then and there and the qustionnanires were collected immediately after being finished. After the data was inputted into SPSS and was cleaned and evaluated, we used SEM and multiple regressions to analyse the data. The result shows that health related internet use does affect individual health behaviors indirectlly through two mediators, which are self efficacy and social support. And trust on health information from the Internet and sex moderate the causal relationship between health related internet use and health behvaiors.Apparently, as a media which combines the strengths of mass media and interpersonal media, the Interent has huge potential in promoting the health attitude and health behaviors of the public. To maxiamize this potential, we should fully develop diverse applications of the Internet in health communication. Also, we need to focus on promoting the self efficacy and social support by internet health communication.