The Relationship Between Health Information Seeking and Community Participation: The Roles of Health Information Orientation and Efficacy

TLDR

Health communication scholarship highlights how community participation fosters responsibility, strengthens bonds, and diffuses health interventions, positioning the community as a key driver of preventive behavior and social capital. The study examines the relationship between health information orientation, health information efficacy, and community participation. The authors conducted two survey studies to assess the correlations among these variables. Results show that health information orientation and efficacy are positively associated with community participation, which in turn is linked to prevention orientation, health beliefs, and health behaviors, prompting theoretical and practical recommendations.

Abstract

Health communication scholarship has built on the health-promoting role of the community in exploring participatory communication techniques in community-based health promotion efforts. Community participation inculcates responsibility, strengthens community bonds, and provides a platform for diffusing health interventions. This power of a community to embody responsible action and promote participation in preventive behavior is examined in recent research on social capital. Exploring the link between community participation and health, this article demonstrates, through 2 survey studies, that health information orientation and health information efficacy are positively correlated with community participation. Furthermore, community participation is linked with prevention orientation, health beliefs, and health behaviors. Based on the findings, theoretical and pragmatic suggestions are presented.