Research On Factors Influencing Users' Willingness To Obtain Information In Online Health Communitie

With the implementation of the "Healthy China" strategy and the increasing improvement of people’s living standards,more and more users are paying closer attention to health issues,particularly during the novel coronavirus outbreak.Offline hospitals were unable to provide comprehensive medical services to residents due to epidemic prevention and control requirements,which has widened the uneven distribution of medical resources in China.As a result,the "Internet and healthcare" approach has gained popularity and is driving the development of online health communities.Online health communities are a new type of online medical platform that offer convenient,efficient,and real-time consultation services.This allows users to access the required health information they need at any time,regardless of geographical location.However,the willingness of users to participate is often influenced by various factors such as the medical environment,information quality,and personal perception.By studying the factors that influence user access to online health communities,we can alleviate the shortage of healthcare resources and address the problem of uneven distribution.Ultimately,this will lead to the widespread availability of universal health information.This paper begins by reviewing the literature on health information behavior,both domestically and internationally.We then examine the information behavior models used in previous studies and construct an influencing factor model for users’ information acquisition intentions using the social support theory and the health belief model as our research foundation.Next,we conducted qualitative research using the grounded theory method to explore the factors that influence users’ access to online health communities from the perspectives of the environment,information,and personal factors.We conducted semi-structured interviews to extract the factors that affect users’ information acquisition when using online health communities.Based on the influencing factors and model,we proposed reasonable research hypotheses.Finally,we designed a questionnaire based on the interview and research hypotheses and distributed it to collect data for empirical analysis.We aimed to verify the feasibility of our research hypotheses and model,and ultimately arrived at the conclusion of this paper: the environmental,information,and personal dimensions all positively influence users’ information acquisition intentions,with the personal dimension presenting an obvious intermediary effect in the environmental and information dimensions.This study helps to clarify the characteristics of user information acquisition intentions in online health communities and provides theoretical guidance for improving online health community services in China.Our research also enriches the research system and framework of user information behavior in online health communities and contributes new ideas and perspectives to the research and development of online health communities.