Characterizing Consumer Behavior in Leveraging Social Media for E-Patient and Health-Related Activities.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Puspitasari I
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6765822 | biostudies-other | 2019 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Publications
Characterizing Consumer Behavior in Leveraging Social Media for E-Patient and Health-Related Activities.
Puspitasari Ira I Firdauzy Alia A
International journal of environmental research and public health 20190911 18
The emergence of e-patients has encouraged consumers, people who are non-medical experts, to be more engaged in healthcare needs by utilizing online sources via social media. However, the nature of social media and regulation issues have caused concerns for the reliability and validity of the shared information. These phenomena shape consumers behavior in leveraging social media for e-patient activities. This study investigates consumer behavior using an integrated model based on the Unified The ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundIn the last decade, social media has emerged as a newer platform for knowledge dissemination, information exchange, and interpersonal communication for health care professionals (HCPs). However, the underlying behaviors of HCPs and the ethical use of social media for productivity enhancement and a sustainable health care system remain ambiguous.ObjectiveThis study seeks to understand the factors that relate to the frequency use of social media in the health care discipline. It also aims to explore the underlying online behaviors of HCPs, which include the exchange of medical information with peers, interpersonal communication, and productivity enhancement in their daily practice.MethodsThis study adopted the quantitative method in collecting and analyzing data. A survey instrument based on the behavioral and technology acceptance theories was developed for this purpose. The survey was distributed via social media platforms to 973 participants that included physicians, pharmacists, and allied HCPs working in the United Arab Emirates. The responses from 203 completed questionnaires (response rate 20.3%) were analyzed.ResultsOf 203 respondents, 133 HCPs used WhatsApp (65.5%); therefore, WhatsApp had the highest number of users compared to Facebook and YouTube, with 101 users out of 203 (49.7%). Overall, 109 of 203 (53.6%) HCPs used social media platforms for the exchange of peer medical information and 108 of 203 (53.2%) used social media several times during the day to improve their interpersonal communication with colleagues. However, only 71 of 203 (34.9%) utilized social media to enhance their productivity in general. The structural model equation showed that behavioral intention (beta=.47; P<.001), habit (beta=.26; P=.001), attitude (beta=.20; P=.002), and perceived usefulness (beta=.12; P=.09) were positively and significantly related to frequency of use. The model explained a rate of 45% variance in the frequency of use and a rate of 17% variance in the social media intention of use.ConclusionsThe research highlights the significant factors that relate to the adoption of social media platforms in health care practice. Based on the findings of this study, the use of online platforms facilitates the exchange of medical information among peers and enhances the share of experiences that support HCP's learning and development. Moreover, social media platforms foster a higher level of communication among practitioners and might improve daily productivity. Future researchers might explore other variables such as training and external factors. For instance, they may draw on areas related to guidelines and policies. From this standpoint, the health care discipline can benefit from highly interactive platforms and adopt them for development, collaboration, and better health outcomes.
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Project description:BACKGROUND:Both 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. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media affects consumers' health behaviors. 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). 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. RESULTS:Instrumental 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. CONCLUSIONS:Compared 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.
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