Exploring Client Preferences for Psychological Counselors in a Chinese Online Health Community: Longitudinal Study
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.
Authors
- Holger Pfaff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9154-6575)
- Jinzhu Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6711-6495)
- Yinhuan Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7717-5261)
- Sha Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8635-9473)
- Zemiao Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1858-5778)
- Xiandong Feng
Institutions
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Wuhan University (CN)
- Hubei Zhongshan Hospital (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Published
- 2024-10-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2196/58428
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.53