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Emotional or informational? Understanding cancer patients’ multifaceted help-seeking behaviors in online health communities

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  • Feng, Xiandong
  • Hu, Yinhuan
  • Pfaff, Holger
  • Liu, Sha
  • Wang, Hui
  • Wang, Yangfan

Abstract

Although the widespread use of online health communities (OHCs) has transformed how cancer patients interact and acquire information, there is limited understanding of their specific help-seeking behaviors in these digital environments. Based on stress and coping theory, this study develops a framework to examine the patterns and determinants of cancer patients’ help-seeking behaviors in OHCs. We collected 19,224 help-seeking posts from a leading cancer-focused OHC in China between January 2016 and July 2023. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining content analysis through Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for behavioral pattern identification and beta regression for determinant analysis. The results revealed two primary categories of help-seeking behaviors - emotional and informational - which comprised six distinct topics: daily emotional regulation, community social support, medical options, treatment processes, medical results interpretation, and medication management and effects. Female patients exhibited stronger tendencies toward emotional help-seeking, while male patients favored informational help-seeking. Both increasing age and time since diagnosis were positively associated with emotional help-seeking but negatively correlated with informational help-seeking. Moreover, different cancer types showed distinct patterns in their help-seeking behaviors. This study advances the theoretical framework of help-seeking behaviors in an online context and provides evidence-based recommendations for optimizing OHCs to meet the diverse needs of cancer patients.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng, Xiandong & Hu, Yinhuan & Pfaff, Holger & Liu, Sha & Wang, Hui & Wang, Yangfan, 2025. "Emotional or informational? Understanding cancer patients’ multifaceted help-seeking behaviors in online health communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 371(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:371:y:2025:i:c:s027795362500231x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lin, Xiaolin & Kishore, Rajiv, 2021. "Social media-enabled healthcare: A conceptual model of social media affordances, online social support, and health behaviors and outcomes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. Caroli, Eve & Weber-Baghdiguian, Lexane, 2016. "Self-reported health and gender: The role of social norms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 220-229.
    3. Phoebe E Bailey & Brooke Brady & Natalie C Ebner & Ted Ruffman & Derek Isaacowitz, 2020. "Effects of Age on Emotion Regulation, Emotional Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(4), pages 802-810.
    4. Janelle N. Beadle & Alexander H. Sheehan & Brian Dahlben & Angela H. Gutchess, 2015. "Aging, Empathy, and Prosociality," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(2), pages 213-222.
    5. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01379374 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Caroli, Eve & Weber-Baghdiguian, Lexane, 2016. "Self-reported health and gender: The role of social norms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 220-229.
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