Strategies for Assessing Health Information Credibility Among Older Social Media Users in China: A Qualitative Study

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant demographics.

Variable	N	%
Gender
Man	16	40
Woman	24	60
Age
65–69	20	50
70–79	14	35
80–85	6	15
M = 71.75, SD = 6.65
Education
Primary school or less	6	15
Secondary school	5	12.5
High school	9	22.5
Junior college	4	10
University	12	30
Refused	4	10
Monthly household income (in CNY)
≤ $3,000	8	20
$3,001 – $6,000	11	27.5
$6,001 – $9,000	8	20
≥ $9,001	6	15
Refused	7	17.5

1 CNY equals approximately 0.15 USD.

Table 2. Mapping of themes.

Theme	Description	Concept	Limitation
Perceived communicative orientation of the source	Credibility is questioned when the perceived persuasive intent is commercially oriented	• Source cue• Persuasive-intent heuristic	Cannot detect false information not intended to mislead
Source reputation	Credibility is established when the informational content is from trusted sources such as the government and Chinese Central Television	• Source cue• Reputation heuristic	Requires the capacity to detect information lying about its origin
Self-confirmation based on life experiences	Credibility is established when content resonates with personal life experience and past trusted information	• Message cue• Self-confirmation heuristic	Cannot detect false information containing narratives corresponding to prior experiences or addressing novel issues
Exaggeration in claimed effects	Credibility is questioned when the claimed effect is perceived to be exaggerated	• Message cue• Expectancy violation heuristic	Less effective when exaggeration in the content is not overt
Content consistency across sources	Credibility is questioned when different sources provide contradictory information	• Message cue• Consistency heuristic• External resources	Limits health choices given the cautious approach