Background: Information seeking, as an important part of the prevention and control of infectious diseases, can lead to positive outcomes by reducing uncertainty and alleviating panic. However, most previous studies have limited their analysis to individual-level psychosocial factors, and little is known about how social-level factors influence individuals’ information-seeking intentions.
Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted from July 30, 2020 to August 15, 2020 in China. We used a convenience sampling strategy to recruit participants from among the Internet users. The structural equation model was used to identify the incentives associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk information-seeking intention.
Results: In this study, the responses of 871 Internet users who reflected a response rate of 85% were analyzed. Information-seeking intention was found to be directed by informational subjective norms (ISNs), perceived information need, risk knowledge, the sense of community (SOC), and negative affective responses, and ISNs were found to be the strongest driving factor. Individuals with a stronger SOC, which was associated with greater pressure and expectations, show negative affective responses. COVID-19 risk knowledge can affect the information-seeking intention of Internet users not only directly but also indirectly through their perceived information need. In addition, more risk knowledge was associated with a lower perceived risk likelihood.
Conclusion: When formulating risk communication strategies, governments and health institutions should take targeted measures to improve the public’s SOC and knowledge. This will provide an opportunity to explore the role of individual cognition and environmental risk information in public health.
Keywords: COVID-19, seeking intention, sense of community, internet user, planned risk information seeking model