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Background In recent years, public health incidents that pose a serious threat to public life have occurred frequently in China. The use of social media by public health authorities has helped to reduce these threats by increasing effective risk communication between the government and the public. Objective The aim of this study is to reveal how China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses social media to improve three aspects of health communication between the government and the public: adoption, operation, and interaction. Methods To analyze the 134 CDC government Weibo accounts at the provincial- and prefecture-level administration regions in mainland China, we collected their account data and extracted 1215 Weibo tweets. We also supplemented the data to reveal the overall performance of the CDC’s government Weibo use during the COVID-19 crisis. Results The registration rate of the CDC’s government Weibo accounts increased year by year, and the local authorities registered Weibo accounts before the central government authorities. In total, 29.8% (n=134) of the 450 CDC facilities have registered an account. Among the 134 CDC facilities that have registered Weibo accounts, the registration rate in the eastern region (n=68, 50.7%) was higher than those in the central region (n=30, 22.4%) and the western region (n=36, 26.9%). Nearly 90.0% of these Weibo accounts had official certification, but there were dropouts in the specific operating process. One-third of the accounts have not been updated for more than 1 year, and the number of Weibo followers was polarized, with a maximum and minimum difference of 1 million. The response rate to users’ comments was less than 1%. Emergency information, multimedia content, and original content were more helpful in promoting communication between the government and the public. Such interaction was partially improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC updated the daily epidemic situation and provided popular science information for epidemic prevention and control for the public in a timely manner. Conclusions China’s CDC is using more social media to popularize daily health information and has taken the first step to improve communication between the government and the public. However, equal dialogue, two-way interactions, and effective communication with the public still need improvement.
Runxi Zeng; Menghan Li. Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2020, 22, e19470 .
AMA StyleRunxi Zeng, Menghan Li. Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020; 22 (12):e19470.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRunxi Zeng; Menghan Li. 2020. "Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020." Journal of Medical Internet Research 22, no. 12: e19470.
BACKGROUND In recent years, public health incidents that pose a serious threat to public life have occurred frequently in China. The use of social media by public health authorities has helped to reduce these threats by increasing effective risk communication between the government and the public. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to reveal how China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses social media to improve three aspects of health communication between the government and the public: adoption, operation, and interaction. METHODS To analyze the 134 CDC government Weibo accounts at the provincial- and prefecture-level administration regions in mainland China, we collected their account data and extracted 1215 Weibo tweets. We also supplemented the data to reveal the overall performance of the CDC’s government Weibo use during the COVID-19 crisis. RESULTS The registration rate of the CDC’s government Weibo accounts increased year by year, and the local authorities registered Weibo accounts before the central government authorities. In total, 29.8% (n=134) of the 450 CDC facilities have registered an account. Among the 134 CDC facilities that have registered Weibo accounts, the registration rate in the eastern region (n=68, 50.7%) was higher than those in the central region (n=30, 22.4%) and the western region (n=36, 26.9%). Nearly 90.0% of these Weibo accounts had official certification, but there were dropouts in the specific operating process. One-third of the accounts have not been updated for more than 1 year, and the number of Weibo followers was polarized, with a maximum and minimum difference of 1 million. The response rate to users’ comments was less than 1%. Emergency information, multimedia content, and original content were more helpful in promoting communication between the government and the public. Such interaction was partially improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC updated the daily epidemic situation and provided popular science information for epidemic prevention and control for the public in a timely manner. CONCLUSIONS China’s CDC is using more social media to popularize daily health information and has taken the first step to improve communication between the government and the public. However, equal dialogue, two-way interactions, and effective communication with the public still need improvement.
Runxi Zeng; Menghan Li. Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020 (Preprint). 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleRunxi Zeng, Menghan Li. Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020 (Preprint). . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRunxi Zeng; Menghan Li. 2020. "Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020 (Preprint)." , no. : 1.
BackgroundSocial media has become the most popular communication tool used by Chinese citizens, including expectant mothers. An increasing number of women have adopted various forms of social media channels, such as interactive websites, instant messaging, and mobile apps, to solve problems and obtain answers to queries during pregnancy. Although the use of the internet by pregnant women has been studied extensively worldwide, limited research exists that explores the changing social media usage habits in China, where the 1 child policy ended in 2015.ObjectiveThis study aimed to (1) present the status quo of pregnancy-related information seeking and sharing via social media among Chinese expectant mothers, (2) reveal the impact of social media usage, and (3) shed light on pregnancy-related health services delivered via social media channels.MethodsA qualitative approach was employed to examine social media usage and its consequences on pregnant women. A total of 20 women who had conceived and were at various stages of pregnancy were interviewed from July 20 to August 10, 2017. Thematic analysis was conducted on the collected data to identify patterns in usage.ResultsOverall, 80% (16/20) of participants were aged in their 20s (mean 28.5 years [SD 4.3]). All had used social media for pregnancy-related purposes. For the seeking behavior, 18 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and the postpartum period; whereas for sharing behaviors, 10 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and caretaker. Lurking, small group sharing, bad news avoidance, and cross-checking were identified as the preferred patterns for using social media. Overall, 95% (19/20) of participants reported a positive mental impact from using social media during their pregnancy.ConclusionsIt is indisputable that social media has played an increasingly important role in supporting expectant mothers in China. The specific seeking and sharing patterns identified in this study indicate that the general quality of pregnancy-related information on social media, as well as Chinese culture toward pregnancy, is improving. The new themes that merge in pregnancy-related social media use represent a shift toward safe pregnancy and the promotion of a more enjoyable pregnancy. Future prenatal care should provide further information on services related to being comfortable during pregnancy and reducing the inequality of social media–based services caused by the digital divide.
Chengyan Zhu; Runxi Zeng; Wei Zhang; Richard Evans; Rongrong He. Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2019, 21, e13694 .
AMA StyleChengyan Zhu, Runxi Zeng, Wei Zhang, Richard Evans, Rongrong He. Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2019; 21 (12):e13694.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChengyan Zhu; Runxi Zeng; Wei Zhang; Richard Evans; Rongrong He. 2019. "Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study." Journal of Medical Internet Research 21, no. 12: e13694.
Current studies have considered the upper growth limit of the information quantity of online public opinion, although the effect of online rumors on the upper growth limit has not been considered. This study aims to identify the key parameters in a model of online rumors that affect the upper growth limit. First, the logistic population growth model is introduced to analyze the mechanism underlying the impact of online rumors on the information quantity of online public opinion. Second, the theory of differential equations is employed to build an influence rule between the two models. Third, we perform a numerical simulation to explore the development trend of the information quantity of online public opinion under the control of three parameters: rumor input rate, rumor conversion rate and rumor refutation rate. This paper defined the key factors for assessing how online public opinions are affected by online rumors, determined the influence strength of parameters under different online public opinion modes, better described the abnormal growth pattern of online public opinion, and provided a theoretical basis for online public opinion prediction and rumor control research.
Yuexin Lan; Zhixuan Lian; Runxi Zeng; Di Zhu; Yixue Xia; Mo Liu; Peng Zhang. A statistical model of the impact of online rumors on the information quantity of online public opinion. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 2019, 541, 123623 .
AMA StyleYuexin Lan, Zhixuan Lian, Runxi Zeng, Di Zhu, Yixue Xia, Mo Liu, Peng Zhang. A statistical model of the impact of online rumors on the information quantity of online public opinion. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications. 2019; 541 ():123623.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYuexin Lan; Zhixuan Lian; Runxi Zeng; Di Zhu; Yixue Xia; Mo Liu; Peng Zhang. 2019. "A statistical model of the impact of online rumors on the information quantity of online public opinion." Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 541, no. : 123623.
The emotional contagion of netizens is an important factor that accelerates the spread of rumors, and it is also key to the effectiveness of rumor refutation. Based on the existing emotional model, we improved the method for calculating the emotional value and the transformation rules to simulate how the infection transforms individual emotion to group emotion during rumor refutation. The results show that the cycle and trend of netizen emotional change vary by period, but the final distribution structure presents a relatively stable state. The factors that affect the emotional changes of netizens are mainly objective and subjective aspects, both of which can promote the evolution of emotional contagion. The objective aspect depends on the speed and credibility of the rumor, and the subjective aspect depends on the degree of intimacy between netizens. After rumor refutation, emotions generally change from negative emotions to positive or immune emotions.
Runxi Zeng; Di Zhu. A model and simulation of the emotional contagion of netizens in the process of rumor refutation. Scientific Reports 2019, 9, 1 -15.
AMA StyleRunxi Zeng, Di Zhu. A model and simulation of the emotional contagion of netizens in the process of rumor refutation. Scientific Reports. 2019; 9 (1):1-15.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRunxi Zeng; Di Zhu. 2019. "A model and simulation of the emotional contagion of netizens in the process of rumor refutation." Scientific Reports 9, no. 1: 1-15.
Previous research has produced conflicting findings on the relationship between media use and environmental public service satisfaction. Using survey data from the China General Social Survey 2015 (hereafter referred to as CGSS2015), this study examined the impact of media use on environmental public service satisfaction. The findings showed that traditional media use was positively associated and new media use was negatively associated with environmental public service satisfaction. Individuals who used new media as their primary source of information were less satisfied with environmental public services than individuals whose primary source of information was traditional media. This study confirmed that authoritative value propositions and government trust have a significant mediating effect between traditional media use and environmental public service satisfaction, and government trust has a significant mediating effect between individuals’ main information sources and their environmental public service satisfaction.
Shujia Hu; Runxi Zeng; Chengzhi Yi. Media Use and Environmental Public Service Satisfaction—An Empirical Analysis Based on China. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3873 .
AMA StyleShujia Hu, Runxi Zeng, Chengzhi Yi. Media Use and Environmental Public Service Satisfaction—An Empirical Analysis Based on China. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (14):3873.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShujia Hu; Runxi Zeng; Chengzhi Yi. 2019. "Media Use and Environmental Public Service Satisfaction—An Empirical Analysis Based on China." Sustainability 11, no. 14: 3873.
BACKGROUND Social media has become the most popular communication tool used by Chinese citizens, including expectant mothers. An increasing number of women have adopted various forms of social media channels, such as interactive websites, instant messaging, and mobile apps, to solve problems and obtain answers to queries during pregnancy. Although the use of the internet by pregnant women has been studied extensively worldwide, limited research exists that explores the changing social media usage habits in China, where the 1 child policy ended in 2015. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to (1) present the status quo of pregnancy-related information seeking and sharing via social media among Chinese expectant mothers, (2) reveal the impact of social media usage, and (3) shed light on pregnancy-related health services delivered via social media channels. METHODS A qualitative approach was employed to examine social media usage and its consequences on pregnant women. A total of 20 women who had conceived and were at various stages of pregnancy were interviewed from July 20 to August 10, 2017. Thematic analysis was conducted on the collected data to identify patterns in usage. RESULTS Overall, 80% (16/20) of participants were aged in their 20s (mean 28.5 years [SD 4.3]). All had used social media for pregnancy-related purposes. For the seeking behavior, 18 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and the postpartum period; whereas for sharing behaviors, 10 codes were merged into 4 themes, namely, gravida, fetus, delivery, and caretaker. Lurking, small group sharing, bad news avoidance, and cross-checking were identified as the preferred patterns for using social media. Overall, 95% (19/20) of participants reported a positive mental impact from using social media during their pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS It is indisputable that social media has played an increasingly important role in supporting expectant mothers in China. The specific seeking and sharing patterns identified in this study indicate that the general quality of pregnancy-related information on social media, as well as Chinese culture toward pregnancy, is improving. The new themes that merge in pregnancy-related social media use represent a shift toward safe pregnancy and the promotion of a more enjoyable pregnancy. Future prenatal care should provide further information on services related to being comfortable during pregnancy and reducing the inequality of social media–based services caused by the digital divide.
Chengyan Zhu; Runxi Zeng; Wei Zhang; Richard Evans; Rongrong He. Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study (Preprint). 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleChengyan Zhu, Runxi Zeng, Wei Zhang, Richard Evans, Rongrong He. Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study (Preprint). . 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChengyan Zhu; Runxi Zeng; Wei Zhang; Richard Evans; Rongrong He. 2019. "Pregnancy-Related Information Seeking and Sharing in the Social Media Era Among Expectant Mothers: Qualitative Study (Preprint)." , no. : 1.
WeChat has gained increasing popularity worldwide and is regarded as a tool for receiving social support. This study aims to explore the impact of WeChat use intensity on online/offline social support and proposes that the relationship between the two is moderated by motivators for WeChat use. We conducted a survey with 432 valid respondents at 10 Chinese universities and performed OLS regression analyses to explore the hypotheses. The findings showed that participants’ WeChat use intensity is positively associated with online and offline social support, the information acquisition motive and interpersonal communication motive both have a relatively strong direct effect on the acquisition of online and offline social support, and the interpersonal communication motive further plays a moderating role between WeChat use intensity and online/offline social support. The results imply that online behavior facilitates offline supportive relationships and that an interpersonal communication motive may increase enthusiasm for using WeChat and significantly interact with WeChat use to increase online and offline social support.
Ge Wang; Wei Zhang; Runxi Zeng. WeChat use intensity and social support: The moderating effect of motivators for WeChat use. Computers in Human Behavior 2018, 91, 244 -251.
AMA StyleGe Wang, Wei Zhang, Runxi Zeng. WeChat use intensity and social support: The moderating effect of motivators for WeChat use. Computers in Human Behavior. 2018; 91 ():244-251.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGe Wang; Wei Zhang; Runxi Zeng. 2018. "WeChat use intensity and social support: The moderating effect of motivators for WeChat use." Computers in Human Behavior 91, no. : 244-251.
Our study demonstrated that hospitals are more inclined to use WeChat. The move by hospitals from Sina Weibo to WeChat indicates that patients are not satisfied by mere communication and that they now place more value on health service delivery. Meanwhile, utilizing social media requires comprehensive thinking from the hospital side. Once adopted, hospitals are encouraged to implement specific rules regarding social media usage. In the future, a long journey still lies ahead for hospitals in terms of operating their official social media accounts.
Wei Zhang; Zhaohua Deng; Richard Evans; Fei Xiang; Qing Ye; Runxi Zeng. Social Media Landscape of the Tertiary Referral Hospitals in China: Observational Descriptive Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2018, 20, e249 .
AMA StyleWei Zhang, Zhaohua Deng, Richard Evans, Fei Xiang, Qing Ye, Runxi Zeng. Social Media Landscape of the Tertiary Referral Hospitals in China: Observational Descriptive Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2018; 20 (8):e249.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWei Zhang; Zhaohua Deng; Richard Evans; Fei Xiang; Qing Ye; Runxi Zeng. 2018. "Social Media Landscape of the Tertiary Referral Hospitals in China: Observational Descriptive Study." Journal of Medical Internet Research 20, no. 8: e249.
Although affect is widely accepted to be a critical factor in improving one's life satisfaction, little is known about how this association works. This study proposes a moderating role of online self-disclosure between affect and life satisfaction. We conducted a survey with 621 valid respondents at 10 Chinese universities and performed correlation and regression analyses to explore the hypotheses. The findings confirm that positive affect is positively associated with life satisfaction, while negative affect is negatively associated with life satisfaction. Meanwhile, negative affect is not a strong predictor of life satisfaction in China's context compared to that of more individualistic nations. For individuals with higher online self-disclosure, the moderating effect is much stronger and weakens the association between negative affect and life satisfaction. The conclusions in this study contribute to the understanding of the moderating mechanism between affect and life satisfaction that is caused by online self-disclosure. The results further imply that frequent online self-disclosure may have a blocking effect on the connection between negative affect and life satisfaction.
Ge Wang; Wei Zhang; Qiang Chen; Runxi Zeng. How is negative affect associated with life satisfaction? The moderating role of online self-disclosure in China's context. Personality and Individual Differences 2018, 135, 60 -66.
AMA StyleGe Wang, Wei Zhang, Qiang Chen, Runxi Zeng. How is negative affect associated with life satisfaction? The moderating role of online self-disclosure in China's context. Personality and Individual Differences. 2018; 135 ():60-66.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGe Wang; Wei Zhang; Qiang Chen; Runxi Zeng. 2018. "How is negative affect associated with life satisfaction? The moderating role of online self-disclosure in China's context." Personality and Individual Differences 135, no. : 60-66.
BACKGROUND Social media has penetrated all walks of life. Chinese Healthcare Institutions are increasingly utilizing social media to connect with their patients for better health service delivery. Current research has focused heavily on the use of social media in developed countries, with few exploring its usage in the context of developing countries, such as China. This study examines China’s best hospitals, as recognized by The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of the People’s Republic of China, mapping out the landscape of current social media usage by hospitals when engaging with patients. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine China’s best hospitals, as recognized by The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of the People’s Republic of China, and to map out the landscape of current social media usage by hospitals when engaging with patients. METHODS We examined the best 705 hospitals in China, collecting and analyzing their usage of popular Chinese social media applications, Sina Weibo and WeChat. Specific data included: (1) hospital characteristics (i.e. established time, number of beds, hospital type, regions/localities) and (2) status of social media usage on two of the most popular local social media platforms in China (i.e. initiated time, number of followers and number of tweets or posts). We further used a logistic regression model to test the association between hospital characteristics and social media adoption. RESULTS A total of 537 (76.17%) tertiary-referral hospitals have created official accounts on either Sina Weibo or WeChat. Of these, WeChat is more popular than Sina Weibo. In addition, our study suggests that larger and newer hospitals with greater resources are more likely to adopt social media, while hospital type and affiliation to universities are not significant predictors of social media adoption among hospitals. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrated that hospitals are more inclined to use WeChat. The move by hospitals from Sina Weibo to WeChat means that patients are seen to be not satisfied by mere communication and now place more value on health services delivery. For the future, a long journey still lies ahead for hospitals in running their official social media accounts.
Wei Zhang; Zhaohua Deng; Richard Evans; Fei Xiang; Qing Ye; Runxi Zeng. Social Media Landscape of the Tertiary Referral Hospitals in China: An Observational Descriptive Study (Preprint). 2017, 1 .
AMA StyleWei Zhang, Zhaohua Deng, Richard Evans, Fei Xiang, Qing Ye, Runxi Zeng. Social Media Landscape of the Tertiary Referral Hospitals in China: An Observational Descriptive Study (Preprint). . 2017; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWei Zhang; Zhaohua Deng; Richard Evans; Fei Xiang; Qing Ye; Runxi Zeng. 2017. "Social Media Landscape of the Tertiary Referral Hospitals in China: An Observational Descriptive Study (Preprint)." , no. : 1.