Continuance Intention of Online Healthcare Communities

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the continuance usage intention on online healthcare community (OHC) platform for patients and examine the "doctor-OHC-patient" relationship. The proposed model attempted to integrate social interaction ties, shared value, trust with the indirect effects on the relationship between the determinants and continuous usage intention of the OHC platform. The empirical results showed that perceived critical mass, social identity, and para-social interaction would strengthen continuance intention via the social interaction ties. In addition, this study found that the shared values and trust increase users' willingness to continue usage of OHC. This study provides OHC platform managers with an in-depth understanding of the "doctor-OHC-patient" online social interaction. The results of this study may also help hospitals, health policy makers, and related healthcare practitioners to improve the way they use the web for advocacy and guidance, and provide insight into the intent of promoting the ongoing use of OHC platforms.

How the use of an online healthcare community affects the doctor-patient relationship: An empirical study in China

“…According to Wang et al ( 11 ), in the online healthcare community, patients can find a doctor at any time, and many patients already trust their doctor, who, through online communications, can reply to the patients in a timely fashion, increasing trust even more, ultimately improving the entire doctor-patient relationship. Trust in doctors may be associated with increased trust throughout the entire site of health care, such as a hospital, such that doctors in the hospital and some healthcare services provided by the hospital also become more trusted ( 34 ). Thus, patients will trust the hospital more after the experience of using an online healthcare community.…”

What drives the adoption of online health communities? An empirical study from patient-centric perspective

“…A comprehensive understanding of the factors determining patients’ acceptance of OHCs is a prerequisite for facilitating patients’ acceptance of OHCs [ 13 ], which is therefore necessary. Currently, OHCs are still not widely used [ 14 , 15 ]. The lack of patient engagement can limit the success and sustainability of OHCs, undermine the development policies of many countries, and weaken health care’s modernization and rapid development [ 12 ].…”