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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1545942
From Fear to Facts: A Multi-Channel Approach to Information Seeking Amid Influenza-Like Illness Outbreaks
Provisionally accepted- Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
Background: During recurrent large-scale influenza-like illness (ILI) crises, the factors influencing the information-seeking intentions of Chinese individuals across multiple channels during crises remain underexplored. Objective: Guided by the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model, this study proposes a modified RISP model to comprehensively analyze information-seeking intentions through the lens of risk communication. Methods: To empirically validate the proposed research model, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey with 2,604 Chinese citizens aged 18 years and older. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and ordinary least squares regression analysis were employed to analyze the survey data. Results: Our findings revealed that during ILI crises, Chinese individuals experienced a spectrum of emotions; as perceived risk increased, negative emotions intensified while positive emotions decreased. Increased negative emotions correlated with a greater sense of information insufficiency, whereas heightened positive emotions correlated with a reduced perception of it. Consequently, Chinese individuals facing information deficiencies were more inclined to seek information from diverse sources, including interpersonal sources, traditional media, search engines, and social media. Moreover, statistical analysis indicated that stronger beliefs in channel complementary strengthened the relationship between information insufficiency and information-seeking intention across multiple channels (access to medical expertise belief, tailorability belief, convenience belief, anonymity belief. Conclusions: This study outlines a pathway for advancing the RISP model and offers practical strategies for effective risk communication to mitigate risks and enhance public perception and behavior. It also discusses implications for health communication, promotion, and behavior change.
Keywords: influenza-like illness (ILI), risk information seeking and processing model (RISP), multichannel information seeking, Information-seeking intentions, China
Received: 16 Dec 2024; Accepted: 04 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qi, Tham, Waheed and Hashim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jen-Sern Tham, Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.