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The role of online communities in reducing urban–rural health disparities in China
Author(s) -
Cao Xiongfei,
Wang Dan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.903
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 2330-1643
pISSN - 2330-1635
DOI - 10.1002/asi.24013
Subject(s) - china , health equity , environmental health , business , geography , economic growth , health care , medicine , economics , archaeology
The explosive growth of social networks has the potential for online health communities to create social value for users. This study integrates online community with urban–rural health inequality in China to empirically explore whether online communities reduce health disparities between urban and rural areas in China. By collecting a unique data set from an online community in China that focuses on one disease, an exponential random graph model was used to empirically analyze the network structures and relationships formed in this community. The results indicate that technology‐mediated online health communities can alleviate health disparities in China by exchanging information and improving the health capabilities of rural residents. We discuss the implications and guidelines for future research.