Journal of Information Resources Management ›› 2024, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (6): 156-169.doi: 10.13365/j.jirm.2024.06.156

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How does the Quality of Online Health Information Trigger Cyberchondria? Multiple Mediating Roles of Perceived Uncertainty and Health Anxiety

Jin Yan1,2 Zhang Xiaohan1 Sun Zhuo1,2,3 Bi Chongwu1,2,3   

  1. 1.School of Information Management, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001; 
    2. Zhengzhou Data Science Research Center, Zhengzhou, 450001; 
    3. School of Politics and Public Administration, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001
  • Online:2024-11-26 Published:2024-12-20
  • About author:Jin Yan, Ph.D., professor, doctoral supervisor, research interests in information behavior, information governance, health informatics; Zhang Xiaohan, postgraduate, research interests in health information behavior; Sun Zhuo(corresponding author), Ph.D., associate professor, master supervisor, research interests in health information behavior, Email: sunzhuo@zzu.edu.cn; Bi Chongwu, Ph. D., associate professor, master supervisor, research interests in health information behavior, knowledge organization.
  • Supported by:
    This research article is one of the research results of the project "Research on Online Health Information Quality Governance from the Perspective of Group Participation"(21BTQ054) supported by the National Social Science Fund of China and the 74th batch of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation "Research on Government Data Privacy Risk Measurement and Classification and Grading Protection Mechanism under the Perspective of Information Lifecycle"(2023M743213).

Abstract: In the era of "digital health", there has been a significant increase in the public's behavior of "Internet self-diagnosis" based on online health information. The uncertainty in the quality of online health information has heightened health anxiety and led to the emergence of cyberchondria. Understanding the impact of online health information quality on cyberchondria can offer valuable insights for improving online health information governance. This study investigates the mechanisms through which argument quality and source credibility affect cyberchondria from the perspective of online health information quality. We collected 386 valid responses through a questionnaire survey and performed data analysis and model testing with SmartPLS software. The results indicate that both the argument quality and source credibility significantly enhance users' perceived uncertainty and health anxiety, which are common factors contributing to the cyberchondria. Additionally, perceived uncertainty and health anxiety mediate the relationship between argument quality, source reliability, and cyberchondria. Furthermore, health anxiety serves as a mediator in the relationship between perceived uncertainty and cyberchondria.

Key words: Cyberchondria, Argument quality, Source credibility, Health anxiety, Perceived uncertainty

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