Solving a Controversial Health Problem May Be Tricky: Examining Social Media News Use, Gender, Fear, and Information Behaviors in HPV Prevention

Guided by the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS), this study surveys 1,853 Chinese individuals to identify factors influencing active information behaviors and HPV prevention intentions. Results show that involvement recognition is the key driver of situational motivation, leading to active information behaviors, which in turn significantly predict HPV vaccination intentions. Although fear does not directly impact information behaviors, it mediates the effect of perceptual variables on situational motivation. The study also highlights the different impacts of Chinese versus foreign social media news consumption on perceptual variables and the unique effect of gender on involvement recognition. These findings support the applicability of STOPS in HPV prevention and provide insights for improving health communication strategies.