User recommendation in online health communities using adapted matrix factorization

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hangzhou Yang ◽  
Huiying Gao
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Matrix Factorization ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Healthcare Outcomes ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
User Recommendation

PurposeOnline health communities (OHCs) are platforms that help health consumers to communicate with each other and obtain social support for better healthcare outcomes. However, it is usually difficult for community members to efficiently find appropriate peers for social support exchange due to the tremendous volume of users and their generated content. Most of the existing user recommendation systems fail to effectively utilize the rich social information in social media, which can lead to unsatisfactory recommendation performance. The purpose of this study is to propose a novel user recommendation method for OHCs to fill this research gap.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposed a user recommendation method that utilized the adapted matrix factorization (MF) model. The implicit user behavior networks and the user influence relationship (UIR) network were constructed using the various social information found in OHCs, including user-generated content (UGC), user profiles and user interaction records. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach based on a dataset collected from a famous online health community.FindingsThe experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method outperformed all baseline models in user recommendation using the collected dataset. The incorporation of social information from OHCs can significantly improve the performance of the proposed recommender system.Practical implicationsThis study can help users build valuable social connections efficiently, enhance communication among community members, and potentially contribute to the sustainable prosperity of OHCs.Originality/valueThis study introduces the construction of the UIR network in OHCs by integrating various social information. The conventional MF model is adapted by integrating the constructed UIR network for user recommendation.

scholarly journals Antecedents and consequences of the perceived usefulness of smoking cessation online health communities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenglong Li ◽  
Hongxiu Li ◽  
Reima Suomi
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Informational Support ◽  
Continuance Intention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities

PurposeAn empirical study investigated the antecedents to perceived usefulness (PU) and its consequences in the context of smoking cessation online health communities (OHCs).Design/methodology/approachTo validate a research model for perceived informational support, perceived emotional support and perceived esteem support, the authors conducted a partial-least-squares analysis of empirical data from an online survey (N = 173) of users of two smoking cessation OHCs. The proposed model articulates these as antecedents to PU from a social support perspective, and knowledge sharing and continuance intention are expressed as consequences of PU.FindingsThe empirical study identified that the PU of smoking cessation OHCs is influenced by perceived emotional support and perceived esteem support, and perceived informational support indirectly affects PU via these factors. In turn, PU exerts a positive influence on both knowledge sharing and continuance intention. Also, knowledge sharing positively affects continuance intention.Originality/valueThe study contributes to scholarship on users' postadoption behavior in the context of smoking cessation OHCs by disentangling the antecedents to PU from a social support perspective and pinpointing some important consequences of PU. The research also has practical implications for managing smoking cessation OHCs.

Understanding relationship commitment and continuous knowledge sharing in online health communities: a social exchange perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Zhang ◽  
Shan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Relationship Commitment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Online health communities (OHCs) have become increasingly popular sources of health information in recent years. However, little is known about the factors that affect the relationship commitment and continuous knowledge sharing intention among OHC members. Thus, this study aims to integrate social exchange and commitment-trust theories to establish a theoretical model to fill the gap. Design/methodology/approach A research model that integrates social exchange theory and commitment-trust theory is developed. Quantitative data from 519 valid questionnaires are collected via an offline survey. Statistical product and service solutions 20.0 and analysis of a moment structures 20.0 software are used to test the hypotheses. Findings Relationship commitment directly influences continuous knowledge sharing intention, partially mediates the relationship between social support and continuous knowledge sharing intention, and fully mediates the relationship between perceived health risks and continuous knowledge sharing intention. Informational and emotional supports are identified as benefit factors that positively affect relationship commitment and perceived health risks are regarded as cost factors that negatively influence relationship commitment. Informational and emotional supports of OHC members produce different effects on relationship commitment when members obtain social support from different sources. Moreover, trust moderates the influences of informational support and perceived health risks on relationship commitment. Originality/value The findings provide additional insights that can augment the knowledge management literature by indicating how people are driven to share knowledge continuously in the context of OHCs. This study empirically clarifies the relationships of benefits (i.e. social support) and costs (i.e. perceived health risks) to continuous knowledge sharing intention by demonstrating the significant mediating effect of relationship commitment. In addition, the findings of this study highlight the importance of the social support source in OHCs and provide additional insights into commitment–trust theory by integrating the moderating effect of trust on the relationships between relationship commitment and its antecedents.

Cognitive mechanisms underlying interaction and contribution in online health communities: the perspectives of doctors and patients

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Wang ◽  
Jia Wang ◽  
Qiao Li
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Dual Processes ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Knowledge Contribution ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
The Impact

PurposeActive interaction and knowledge contribution are vital yet challenging elements of the sustainable development of online health communities (OHCs). To investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying these behaviours in doctors' and patients' use of OHCs, this study develops a theoretical model to examine the relationships among cognitive modes, patterns of interaction, perceived usefulness, and contribution behaviour and the impact of user identity on these relationships.Design/methodology/approachTo test the research hypotheses, structural equation modelling and multiple-group analysis were used to analyse survey data from 207 doctors and 213 patients.FindingsThe results indicate that dual processes and perceived usefulness are the key cognitive antecedents of interaction and knowledge contribution, respectively. However, the correlation of the rational mode and instrumental interaction is significantly stronger in the doctors' group than in the patients' group, while a stronger correlation between the experiential mode and instrumental interaction is observed in the patients' group.Practical implicationsThese findings support the development of information and system strategies to support the operation of dual processes underlying doctors' and patients' instrumental and affective interactions, facilitate evaluation and sense-making of interaction activities, and motivate knowledge contribution.Originality/valueThis study uncovers the invariance and variability in the relationships between salient cognitive activities and behavioural responses in doctors' and patients' use of OHCs and the impact of user identity on variability.

scholarly journals Knowledge sharing in online smoking cessation communities: a social capital perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenglong Li ◽  
Hongxiu Li ◽  
Reima Suomi ◽  
Yong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Structural Capital ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
Social Capital Perspective ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeAlthough knowledge sharing in online communities has been studied for many years, little is known about the determinants for individuals' knowledge sharing in online health communities (OHCs) surrounding smoking cessation. Examining the determinants of knowledge sharing in such OHCs from the social capital perspective may prove particularly enlightening.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire-based online user survey of two smoking cessation OHCs, one based in Finland and one based in China, was performed. Performing data analysis with partial least squares (SmartPLS 3.0), the authors developed a model conceptualizing the structural, cognitive and relational dimensions of social capital as drivers for knowledge sharing in smoking cessation OHCs, with users' stage in giving up smoking as a moderator.FindingsThe results show that structural capital (social ties) and relational capital (reciprocity) are important motivators behind knowledge sharing in smoking cessation OHCs, and the authors found a moderating effect of the stage in quitting on the antecedents' relationship with knowledge sharing in these OHCs.Originality/valueThe study enriches understanding of knowledge sharing in smoking cessation OHCs, contributing to theory and identifying practical implications for such groups' administration.

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