ArticleBMC medical informatics and decision making2017
How the public uses social media wechat to obtain health information in china: a survey study.
Article in BMC medical informatics and decision making, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 195 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
195 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 429 citations in OpenAlex.
- Older adults and online health misinformation: a systematic literature review.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Development and content evaluation of a multidimensional coping model-based health education manual for dementia care support.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Social Media and eHealth Literacy Among Older Adults: Systematic Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- First Systematic Review on Health Communication Using the CiteSpace Software in China: Exploring Its Research Hotspots and Frontiers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Social Media Intervention Based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model Promotes HIV Testing and Reduces High-Risk Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Resource-Limited Settings in China: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Tuina therapy plus resistance exercise vs. Tuina alone for mechanical neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Improving Parental Health Literacy in Primary Caregivers of 0- to 3-Year-Old Children Through a WeChat Official Account: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Trial
- Effect of a Reminder System on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Adherence in Men Who Have Sex With Men: Prospective Cohort Study Based on WeChat Intervention.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- The effects of WeChat-based educational intervention in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a randomized controlled trail.Arthritis research & therapy · 2021Trial
- Effectiveness of a WeChat Combined Continuous Flash Glucose Monitoring System on Glycemic Control in Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Management: Randomized Controlled Trial.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2021Trial
- A Mobile-Based Intervention for Dietary Behavior and Physical Activity Change in Individuals at High Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Trial
- New Path to Recovery and Well-Being: Cross-Sectional Study on WeChat Use and Endorsement of WeChat-Based mHealth Among People Living With Schizophrenia in China.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- Effect of using the WeChat platform on the perioperative health education of parents of children who underwent transthoracic device closure of VSDs.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2020Trial
- Evaluating an Intervention Program Using WeChat for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- Managing uncertainty in antibiotic decisions: factors influencing antibiotic use among chinese parents of children in a multi-source information environment.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Accessibility and Decision-Supportive Quality of Benign Breast Disease Articles on Chinese Hospital WeChat Public Accounts: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2026Article
- Association of online health information exposure with disease awareness initial symptom severity in benign prostatic hyperplasia: a cross-sectional study.The Canadian journal of urology · 2026Article
- Quality and reliability of vascular cognitive impairment-related information on Chinese social media platforms.Medicine · 2026Article
- Social media use and health empowerment among Chinese adults: the critical role of eHealth literacy and community interventions.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Protocol for a multicentre survey of sexual and reproductive health and fertility among unmarried women living in China's megacities.BMJ open · 2026Article
135 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOn average, 570 million users, 93% in China's first-tier cities, log on to WeChat every day. WeChat has become the most widely and frequently used social media in China, and has been profoundly integrated into the daily life of many Chinese people. A variety of health-related information may be found on WeChat. The objective of this study is to understand how the general public views the impact of the rapidly emerging social media on health information acquisition.
methodsA self-administered questionnaire was designed, distributed, collected, and analyzed utilizing the online survey tool Sojump. WeChat was adopted to randomly release the questionnaires using convenience sampling and collect the results after a certain amount of time.
results(1) A total of 1636 questionnaires (WeChat customers) were collected from 32 provinces. (2) The primary means by which respondents received health education was via the Internet (71.79%). Baidu and WeChat were the top 2 search tools utilized (90.71% and 28.30%, respectively). Only 12.41% of respondents were satisfied with their online health information search. (3) Almost all had seen (98.35%) or read (97.68%) health information; however, only 14.43% believed that WeChat health information could improve health. Nearly one-third frequently received and read health information through WeChat. WeChat was selected (63.26%) as the most expected means for obtaining health information. (4) The major concerns regarding health information through WeChat included the following: excessively homogeneous information, the lack of a guarantee of professionalism, and the presence of advertisements. (5) Finally, the general public was most interested in individualized and interactive health information by managing clinicians, they will highly benefit from using social media rather than Internet search tools.
conclusionsThe current state of health acquisition proves worrisome. The public has a high chance to access health information via WeChat. The growing popularity of interactive social platforms (e.g. WeChat) presents a variety of challenges and opportunities with respect to public health acquisition.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.