Unpacking Health Information Behaviors in a Crisis: A Media-Mediated Model and Evidence on Dynamism and Stability

Abstract

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has generated a pervasive “infodemic,” confronting individuals with sustained exposure to health-related information over an extended period. While prior research has extensively examined health information seeking, existing models remain limited in explaining how diverse health information behaviors are maintained and transformed over time, particularly under prolonged crisis conditions characterized by evolving media environments and shifting external constraints. This dissertation addresses this gap by advancing a media-mediated model that conceptualizes health information behaviors as dynamic yet structured processes shaped by the interplay of individual psychological experiences, media-mediated mechanisms, and external conditions over time.

Integrating a review and four empirical studies, this dissertation develops and elaborates this model in an accumulative manner. The review synthesizes four influential theoretical frameworks and identifies key limitations in the literature, including an overemphasis on information seeking, insufficient attention to media and information channels, reliance on static conceptualizations, and limited sensitivity to contextual and cultural variation. These limitations motivate the development of a more integrative and process-oriented model of health information behaviors.

Building on this foundation, Study 1 proposes the media-mediated model and identifies media utility as a central mechanism linking individual experiences to health information behaviors, thereby highlighting the constitutive role of media beyond individual-level determinants. Study 2 extends the model by demonstrating the presence of internal dynamism, revealing iterative feedback processes among information behaviors, personal beliefs, and media experiences. These findings show that health information behaviors unfold through self-reinforcing processes rather than as discrete or one-time actions. Study 3 further refines the model by examining its temporal implications, showing that despite ongoing internal feedback dynamics, behavioral patterns remain relatively stable over time, with distinct yet consistent trajectories across individuals.

To reconcile the coexistence of internal dynamism and behavioral stability, Study 4 provides an interpretive extension of the model through in-depth interviews. The findings reveal a pattern of dynamic stability, in which individuals continuously adjusted platforms, sources, and strategies while maintaining a stable mode and intensity of everyday health information engagement. This stability-in-dynamism is shaped jointly by internal experiences and external conditions, such as policy regulations.

Taken together, this dissertation advances health information behavior research by proposing and systematically elaborating a media-mediated model that moves beyond static and episodic conceptualizations. The model demonstrates how health information behaviors are structured by media mechanisms, sustained through iterative feedback processes, and characterized by the coexistence of dynamism and stability over time. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of sustained, adaptive, and responsive communication strategies, emphasizing that effective crisis communication requires not only accurate information provision but also ongoing engagement with public concerns and evolving information needs.

Date of Award	5 May 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Yi-hui HUANG (Supervisor)