Description
Although the demand for online patients to look for online health information is in high, few of them seems to demonstrate effective use of the health Social Network Sites (SNSs) (Fox and Jones 2009). Exploring the design features that can motivate individuals to actively participate in the health SNSs is crucial to develop platforms that can support sustainable online social structures (Butler 2001). This study seeks to investigate the influence of the peers structure capacity as an important feature of health SNSs on two individuals’ behaviors, effective SNSs use and willingness to share Personal Health Information (PHI). Accordingly, our goals in this paper are in twofold: First, identifying the psychological influence of the SNSs structure that helps individuals find others who have similar medical conditions and concerns (i.e. shape their peer group), and second, examining the impact of these psychological factors on effective SNSs use and willingness to disclose PHI.
Recommended Citation
Al-Ramahi, Mohammad and Park, Insu, "The Influence of Peers Social Structure in Healthcare Social Networking Websites" (2015). AMCIS 2015 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2015/VirtualComm/GeneralPresentations/2
The Influence of Peers Social Structure in Healthcare Social Networking Websites
Although the demand for online patients to look for online health information is in high, few of them seems to demonstrate effective use of the health Social Network Sites (SNSs) (Fox and Jones 2009). Exploring the design features that can motivate individuals to actively participate in the health SNSs is crucial to develop platforms that can support sustainable online social structures (Butler 2001). This study seeks to investigate the influence of the peers structure capacity as an important feature of health SNSs on two individuals’ behaviors, effective SNSs use and willingness to share Personal Health Information (PHI). Accordingly, our goals in this paper are in twofold: First, identifying the psychological influence of the SNSs structure that helps individuals find others who have similar medical conditions and concerns (i.e. shape their peer group), and second, examining the impact of these psychological factors on effective SNSs use and willingness to disclose PHI.