The Effect of “Offline-to-Online” Trust Transfer on the Utilization of Online Medical Consultation Among Chinese Rural Residents: Experimental Study

Online medical consultation can serve as a valuable means for rural residents to access high-quality health care resources, thereby mitigating the geographic and economic disadvantages prevalent in rural areas. Nevertheless, due to lower cognitive abilities, rural residents often face challenges in trusting and making effective use of online medical consultations. More likely, adopting a bounded rational decision-making model that facilitates the "offline-to-online" trust transfer could prove to be a potentially effective approach. This strategy aims to encourage less technologically experienced rural residents to trust and make use of online medical consultations.