Exploring Influence Factors of WeChat Users’ Health Information Sharing Behavior: Based on an Integrated Model of TPB, UGT and SCT

In this digital era, social media plays a significant role in information distribution. Health information sharing behavior is an essential component of information exchange, which has become one of the key research fields in health communication. Yet, knowledge about the influence factors of health information sharing behavior in social media remains limited. Hence, drawing from the theory of planned behavior (TPB), uses and gratifications (U&G), and social cognitive theory (SCT), this study explored the impact factors of health information sharing intention and behavior. To examine the research model, an online survey was drawn up and administered to 412 WeChat users. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that the research model fits the data well. Our finding indicated that these factors impact users’ health information sharing behavior on WeChat via their attitude, subjective norm, perceived self-efficacy, and behavioral intention in various patterns. It was found that three factors positively influence both attitude toward behavior and subjective norm: status seeking, social interaction, and norm of reciprocity. We also found that social support has positive effects on the subjective norm within the context of health information sharing, but the critical mass has no effect on the subjective norm. Moreover, we found that entertainment is not the impact factor for users’ attitude toward behavior, but information needs. Overall, this study not only enriched the existing literature on health information sharing behavior and presents a new integrated conceptual model to explain multiple variables that affect WeChat users’ sharing behavior regards to health information, but also provides important theoretical and practical implications regarding motivating public participation through information sharing on social media in health communication.