JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Online health information seeking has become one of the most important information needs of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. With such increased interest, studies on online health information seeking have proliferated. However, it is difficult to find generalized studies on how Koreans (or Asians) actually used health information seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected actual health behavior.

Objective:

In this study, we aimed to investigate the current status of consumers’ online health information seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic, including where consumers sought information, what information they sought, how they sought it, and why they sought it. We would like to explore whether health information–seeking behavior affected actual health behavior during COVID-19 based on the theoretical framework of the IMB (information-motivation-behavior skills) model.

Methods:

In this study, the 2021 Korean version of the Health Information National Trend Survey (K-HINTS) was collected from 1,014 adults aged 19 years or older. This is a descriptive research study with secondary analysis of the K-HINTS data. Data on participants’ demographic characteristics, where participants sought information, and how they sought the topics were analyzed using the program SPSS 25.0. In relation to what they sought, COVID-19, the text data of the search phrase was refined and visualized using the WordArt site. A structural equation model was used to examine whether health information–seeking behaviors affected health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic using the program AMOS 24.0.

Results:

The results of identification of consumers’ online health information–seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that, with regard to where they sought information, 752 (74.2%) of the respondents indicated that they most need health or disease-related information from the Internet. With regard to what they sought, vaccine information was the most searched-for information related to COVID-19, Regarding how respondents sought information, mobile devices were the most frequently used devices, with 769 participants (75.8%) using them, and about 98% of these participants searched for online health information using mobile devices at least once a week. With regard to why respondents sought information, the results of the study showed that information, motivation, and behavior skills positively influenced consumers’ health behavior changes. Behavioral skills also mediated the influence of information and motivation on behavioral change.

Conclusions:

This study identified four aspects of consumers’ online health information–seeking status through nationally representative data during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. Furthermore, it is meaningful to explore whether health information–seeking behavior has an impact on actual health behavior. This is expected to make an important contribution to identifying consumers’ health information–seeking behavior to prepare for and predict their post-pandemic behavior.