Engaging and (the Illusion of) Learning? Examining the Relationship Between Different Social Media Activities and Reproductive Health Knowledge.

Social media have become fundamental platforms for learning about health, including reproductive health knowledge. However, little is known about what specific user activity is conducive to learning about reproductive health and by what means. Drawing upon the cognitive mediation model, this study examines how different social media activities function in terms of elaboration and knowledge gain. Our hypothesized model was largely supported by a nationwide online survey with 1,000 Chinese women residing in both rural and urban areas. The results revealed the crucial role of information elaboration in bridging different social media activities with both subjective and factual reproductive health knowledge. Interestingly, public reposting of reproductive health information was found to be positively related to subjective knowledge but negatively related to factual knowledge, suggesting the emergence of an illusion of knowing among our participants. Multigroup SEM analyses revealed that the positive roles of scanning and private sharing in encouraging elaboration were more pronounced among users with lower levels of need for cognition. The findings are expected to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of health learning based on users' social media activities and intrinsic motivations for learning.

Counteracting sexual and reproductive health misperceptions: Investigating the roles of stigma, misinformation exposure, and information overload.

OBJECTIVE: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) misperceptions constitute a critical precursor to undesired health outcomes for women. Drawing on the model of stigma management communication and exposure effects, we aimed to investigate the underlying processes of SRH misperceptions. METHODS: A nationwide survey was conducted via quota sampling with Chinese women (N = 1000). Structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation and 5000 bootstrapping resamples were used to test the hypotheses. RESULTS: Stigma perceptions positively predicted information avoidance (ß = 0.207, p < 0.001), which, in turn, was positively associated with misperceptions (ß = 0.195, p < 0.001). Misinformation exposure significantly predicted misperceptions (ß = 0.607, p < 0.001), and this relationship was mediated by information avoidance (ß = 0.020, 95% CI [0.007, 0.040]). Moreover, information overload strengthened the relationship between misinformation exposure and information avoidance (ß = 0.153, p < 0.001) as well as the relationship between misinformation exposure and misperceptions (ß = 0.077, p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Stigma and misinformation exposure play prominent roles in the formation of SRH misperceptions. Information overload facilitates the misinformation-misperception transformation. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To counteract SRH misperceptions, health education should alleviate SRH stigma perceptions and strategically design messages to avoid information avoidance and overload.

The Link between Patients' Aggressive Communication and Nurses' Emotional Health Outcomes.

The aggressive conduct of patients is a perennial problem that nurses face in health care. Studies have shown that such aggressiveness can be detrimental to the work and emotional wellbeing of nurses. Yet, the literature has had inconsistent findings; in some cases nurses are negatively affected by aggression, while in other cases nurses are not affected. Street and colleagues contended that such inconsistencies in research exist because social mechanisms embedded in communication are often not taken into consideration. This study adopts Street et al.'s pathways model and links patients' aggressive communication to nurses' emotional health outcomes, via the proximal outcome of communication satisfaction and the intermediate outcome of organizational identity. Results support Street et al.'s postulation and demonstrates that patients' aggressive communication does not have a direct effect on nurses' emotional health. Instead, the effect is indirect, mediated by communication satisfaction and organizational identity.

Linking Nonverbal Rapport to Health Outcome: Testing an Organizational Pathway Model.

A growing body of research on medical communication indicates that nonverbal rapport (e.g., smiling, eye contact, closer proximity) is central to productive health care delivery. However, mechanisms integral to the process by which nonverbal rapport influences health improvement remain under-researched. This study breaks new grounds in proposing and testing mediation pathways that take into account organizational factors. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a private hospital in Singapore among 417 patients to examine their communication with physicians and nurses. Results indicated that nonverbal rapport did not have a significant direct relationship with perceived health outcome in both the patient-physician dyad and the patient-nurse dyad. Instead, communication satisfaction and organizational identity completely mediated this relationship. In addition, respect positively moderated the relationship between nonverbal rapport and communication satisfaction in both dyads, while health literacy was not a significant moderator. The findings suggest that the organizational context should be considered in pathways research.

Infographics and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): Differences between Visual and Textual Health Messages.

Effective health communication is vital to improving health outcomes. One increasingly popular form of health communication is the use of infographics. Despite its popularity, there is a lack of empirical investigation regarding its information processing mechanism. We applied the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to study the conditions that lead to elaboration. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: a text-only health message and a health infographic. Results showed that the infographic had better image appeal rating than the text-only message, and the group that viewed the infographic reported greater elaboration. In addition, for both groups, prior knowledge, ease of understanding, and image appeal had effects on elaboration. Presentation format (text-only vs infographic) interacted with prior knowledge to impact elaboration. Our findings demonstrate that visual design cannot be sidelined as a peripheral interest, but should be positioned as one of the focal points in health communication research.

"I would get real people involved": The perspectives of end users in policymaking.

The implementation of health care services is important for public health. Although the current literature provides much insight into the perspectives of policymakers in charge of such implementations, we know very little about the perspectives of end users. Our study addresses this gap by exploring the perspectives of cancer survivors with regard to the notion of forming a cancer coalition. We found health communication to be highly important and much desired among cancer survivors. Policymakers should include end users in planning and decision-making, and focus on communicating the purposes and benefits of an initiative to end users.