The Effects of Social Media Information Discussion, Perceived Information Overload and Patient Empowerment in Influencing HPV Knowledge

ABSTRACT

Social media is becoming a viable channel to seek health information. However, the effects of social media on health knowledge have been inconsistent in the existing literature. Drawn upon the cognitive mediation model, this study examined the motivations influencing social media use for human papillomavirus (HPV) information and explored the underlying pathways linking social media use to HPV knowledge. With two-wave online surveys conducted in China, we found that three motivations of social media use, namely surveillance, anticipated interaction, and guidance, were positively associated with information discussion on social media, which increased perceived information overload that was negatively related to knowledge. In addition, patient empowerment positively moderated the effects of motivations on information discussion.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Approval

Survey respondents provided informed consent. The study protocol was approved by the Department Ethics Review Committee at the National University of Singapore.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.