Determinants of intention to use social media for health purposes among Jewish women in Israel: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Women use the Internet more for health purposes than men, probably due to their gender socialization as caregivers. Indeed, women’s use of social media for health is not a one-time occurrence but is expected to continue for a long time to come. Hence, it is important to understand women’s future intention to use social media for health purposes. This study integrated health empowerment, health beliefs and digital inequality perspectives to explain this intention among Jewish female social media users (N = 94). The data were collected through a telephone survey. The results indicated that searching for health information on social media and cues to action are consistent predictors of women’s intention to use social media for health purposes. With the exception of marital status, no effect of socio-demographic variables was found. Health empowerment approach and health belief model are, therefore, the best predictors of future intention to use social media for health. Women should be encouraged by their communities to expand their experience with social media, since it may serve as a source of health empowerment. In addition, they must be encouraged to be more attentive to internal or external stimuli in maintaining or changing their health behavior.