1. More than search? Informational and participatory eHealth behaviors
- Author
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Kye-Hyoung Lee and Wenhong Chen
- Subjects
Class (computer programming) ,business.industry ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Internet privacy ,Citizen journalism ,Mental health ,Structural equation modeling ,Literacy ,Human-Computer Interaction ,Promotion (rank) ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,eHealth ,business ,Psychology ,Health communication ,General Psychology ,media_common - Abstract
Few studies in the eHealth literature have paid attention to participatory eHealth behaviors. Addressing this gap, the present study examines how informational and participatory eHealth behaviors are related to eHealth literacy, Internet use and Facebook interaction, as well as user characteristics. Drawing on a sample of college students (N=540), results from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis show that eHealth literacy has a positive direct effect on informational eHealth behaviors. It also serves as a mediator suppressing the negative relationship between excellent mental health status and eHealth behaviors. While both instrumental Internet use and Facebook interaction are related to participatory eHealth behaviors, only instrumental Internet use is associated with informational eHealth behaviors. There are significant eHealth disparities by health status, gender, and class. Implications for health communication and promotion are discussed.
- Published
- 2014
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