Factors impacting chinese older adults intention to prevent COVID-19 in the post COVID-19 pandemic era: Survey study

Abstract

Background: Understanding the factors influencing individuals health decisions is a dynamic research question. Particularly, after China announced the deregulation of the COVID-19 epidemic, health risks escalated rapidly. The convergence of "no longer controlled" viruses and the infodemic has created a distinctive social period during which multiple factors may have influenced people s decision-making. Among these factors, the precautionary intentions of older individuals, as a susceptible health group, deserve special attention. Objective: This study aims to examine the intention of older adults to engage in preventive behaviors and the influencing factors, including social, media, and individual factors, within the context of the postepidemic era. Drawing upon the structural influence model of communication, this study tests the potential mediating roles of 3 different types of media exposure between cognitive and structural social capital and protective behavior intention, as well as the moderating role of negative emotions between social capital and media exposure. Methods: In this study, a web survey was used to collect self-reported quantitative data on social capital, media exposure, negative emotions, and the intention to prevent COVID-19 among older adults aged 60 years (N=399) in China. Results: The results indicate that cognitive social capital significantly influenced protective behavior intention (P