School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Major Disciplinary Platform under Double First-Class Initiative for Liberal Arts at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Research Center for High-Quality Development of Hospitals), Wuhan, China.
J Med Internet Res. 2024 Oct 10;26:e58428. doi: 10.2196/58428.
Although online health communities are acknowledged for their role in bridging the supply-demand gap in mental health services, the client decision-making process in these environments remains underexplored.
This study aimed to explore the impact of different signals presented on psychological counselors' home pages on clients' choices.
Adopting signaling theory as the framework, this study classified information into online and offline signals and developed a theoretical model to examine client choice behaviors. We collected data from 487 psychological counselors in a leading Chinese online mental health community during March, June, September, and December 2023. Based on these data, we constructed a 4-period balanced panel dataset. A fixed effects model was used to analyze which signals influence clients' choices of psychological counselors.
Regarding online signals, the service price (β=0.186, P<.001) and online reputation (β=0.489, P=.002) of psychological counselors positively influence clients' choices. Concerning offline signals, psychological counselors' practical experience (β=0.007, P<.001) is positively related to clients' choices. Moreover, the results indicate that the relationship between a counselor's prosocial behavior and clients' choices is not linear but rather exhibits an inverted U-shape.
This study reveals that the varied information provided by psychological counselors has distinct impacts on clients' choices in online health communities. It broadens the application of signaling theory to online behaviors and emphasizes the importance of both online and offline signals. These insights offer strategic guidance for counselors and online platforms to better meet potential clients' needs by optimizing the information presented on psychological counselors' home pages.
尽管在线健康社区在弥合心理健康服务供需差距方面发挥了作用，但这些环境中的客户决策过程仍未得到充分探索。
本研究旨在探讨心理辅导员主页上呈现的不同信号对客户选择的影响。
本研究采用信号理论作为框架，将信息分为在线和离线信号，并开发了一个理论模型来检验客户的选择行为。我们于 2023 年 3 月、6 月、9 月和 12 月从中国领先的在线心理健康社区中收集了 487 名心理辅导员的数据。基于这些数据，我们构建了一个 4 期平衡面板数据集。使用固定效应模型分析哪些信号影响客户对心理辅导员的选择。
在线信号方面，心理辅导员的服务价格（β=0.186，P<.001）和在线声誉（β=0.489，P=.002）对客户的选择产生积极影响。离线信号方面，心理辅导员的实际经验（β=0.007，P<.001）与客户的选择呈正相关。此外，研究结果表明，辅导员亲社会行为与客户选择之间的关系不是线性的，而是呈倒 U 形。
本研究表明，心理辅导员提供的各种信息对在线健康社区中客户的选择有不同的影响。它拓宽了信号理论在在线行为中的应用，并强调了在线和离线信号的重要性。这些见解为辅导员和在线平台提供了战略指导，通过优化心理辅导员主页上呈现的信息，更好地满足潜在客户的需求。
