Determinants of public purchase intention towards refined health meteorological Services: Evidence from Jiangsu Province, China

Climate change-driven health risks are exacerbating the global disease burden and mortality, making the development of refined health meteorological services a critical strategy for addressing gaps in public health care preparedness. This study examines public purchase intention towards refined health meteorological services, employing the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and structural equation modelling (SEM). Data were collected from 535 urban residents in Jiangsu Province, and Likert-scale items were used to measure purchase intention for very short-term (0–24 h) weather forecasts, extended-range (60–90 d) weather forecasts, and air quality services (hourly PM2.5/SO 2 /NOx). The results indicate that 60–65 % of the respondents expressed purchase intention, with SEM identifying the need for air quality information services (β = 0.803, p < 0.01) as the strongest driver, followed by attitudes towards refined health meteorological services (β = 0.368, p < 0.01), and the need for very short-term/extended-range weather forecasts (β = 0.124, p < 0.05). Subjective norms currently showed no significant effect. The findings have substantive implications for governmental stakeholders (e.g., meteorological and public health authorities) and industrial stakeholders (e.g., health technology and service companies) in fostering the commercialization of health meteorological services at the population level. The conclusions are highly informative and transferable to other urbanized areas undergoing comparable socioeconomic development and confronting analogous climate-related health challenges.