Currently submitted to: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Apr 6, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Apr 8, 2026 - Jun 3, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
The Effect of Physical and Psychological Health on Elderly Users' Willingness to Share Emotion-Driven Health Rumors on Social Media in China: A Survey Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The aging population has heightened the public health concern posed by emotion-driven health rumors (such as fear and hope). Older adults are particularly vulnerable to such rumors, due to factors including limited knowledge of e-health literacy (eHL) services and increased sensitivity to health issues.
Objective:
In this study, we looked at how physical health status and psychological health status differently affect Chinese older adults' willingness to share dread rumors or wish rumors. We also explored whether eHL plays a moderating role in these relationships.
Methods:
The study used a cross-sectional survey and recruited participants aged 65 and older. The sample was evenly distributed by gender, consisting primarily of individuals with secondary educational attainment, and most participants had no medical background.
Results:
Results revealed that the willingness to share dread rumors exhibited a significant negative association with physical and psychological health status; an association strengthened by higher levels of eHL. For wish rumors, a significant positive association was identified between health status and the willingness to share rumors; this association was likewise amplified by higher eHL.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that physical and psychological health status both influence rumor-sharing willingness in a consistent direction. Meanwhile, eHL acts as a more complex moderator—its effect depends on the type of emotional response that a rumor triggers. These insights add to health communication theory and also point toward more targeted eHL interventions.
Citation
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