Patients' Acceptance of Information Published by Physicians in Online Health Communities: An Empirical Study

By means of obtaining health-related information published by physicians in online health communities (OHCs), patients are able to diagnose some simple diseases by themselves and then save queueing time, which can help optimize the allocation of medial resources and alleviate hospitals' congestion to a certain extent, However, some patients may be hesitant to adopt this information because of its shortcomings. This study established a research model based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology to examine patients' acceptance of information published by physicians in OHCs. An online survey involving 453 Chinese participants was conducted to collect data, and 378 (83.4%) were valid. Structural equation modelling and partial least squares were adopted to analyze data and test hypotheses Results reveal that performance expectancy, social influence and attitude toward using technology positively influence their behavioral intention and ultimately influence usage behavior of adopting information in OHCs. Our findings suggest that OHCs should inspire the intention of users to use information in OHCs, enhance the management of information, strengthen OHCs' reputation to increase social influence, and improve the service level of OHCs.