Understanding first aid knowledge adoption on social media with an extended information adoption model

Purpose Social media provides a convenient way to popularise first aid knowledge amongst the general public. So far, little is known about the factors influencing individuals’ adoption of first aid knowledge on social media. Drawing on the information adoption model (IAM), this study investigates the joint effects of cognitive factors (e.g. perceived information usefulness (PIU)), affective factors (e.g. arousal (AR)) and social factors (e.g. descriptive norms (DN)) on first aid knowledge adoption (KA) and examines their antecedent cues from the perspective of information characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 375 social media users, and the structural equation model was adopted to analyse the results. Findings The results indicate that PIU, AR and DN all have positive direct effects on first aid KA. Additionally, the study highlights the positive synergistic effect of AR and PIU. Furthermore, the study suggests that AR is determined by message vividness (MV) and emotional tone (ET), whilst DN are determined by peer endorsement (PEE) and expert endorsement (EXE). Originality/value Our research is groundbreaking as it delves into the adoption of first aid knowledge through social media, thus pushing the boundaries of existing information adoption literature. Additionally, our study enhances the IAM by incorporating emotional and social elements and provides valuable insights for promoting the spread of first aid knowledge via social media.