Research on the motivation of young patients′ medical electronic word-of-mouth sharing on internet platforms / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the facilitating and inhibitory factors influencing the behavior of young patients to share medical electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on internet platforms, so as to provide insights for the improvement of healthcare quality.Methods:In May 2022, 271 undergraduate students from universities in Zhejiang province were selected by convenient sampling to survey their motivations to share eWOM with a self-designed questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the impact of different motivational factors on the sharing intention of young patients.Results:Only 16 respondents (5.9%) had previously published medical eWOM. Egoistic motivation, altruistic motivation, medical experience, and comment habits were significant factors that promoted patients to share eWOM, with egoistic motivation ( β=0.212, P<0.001) having the greatest impact and comment habit ( β=0.139, P=0.003) having the least impact. Distrust, low self-efficacy and involvement, perceived reluctance, and perceived uselessness were significant factors inhibiting patients from publishing eWOM. Of them, distrust ( β=-0.161, P<0.001) and perceived reluctance ( β=-0.161, P=0.001) had the greatest impact, and low self-efficacy and involvement had the least impact ( β=-0.134, P=0.003). Conclusions:To enhance the positive attitude of young patients towards sharing eWOM, it is important to focus on their personal benefits and provide high-quality healthcare experiences. Building trust among patients in the platform is crucial, and efforts should be made to reduce operational barriers. Additionally, educating and raising awareness among young patients regarding the significance and influence of healthcare reviews is important.