This study investigates exploratory and purposeful social support-seeking behaviors in the patient-centric online healthcare community (POHC). The antecedents and varying effects of the two behaviors on uncertainties in diagnosis and treatment are examined. Two rounds of field surveys are conducted among users in three POHCs. Findings indicate that exploratory and purposeful social support-seeking behaviors exert varying effects on the change in uncertainty in illness and are influenced differently by the perceived information credibility of users, their identification with a community, and the perceived severity of their illness.

中文翻译：

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在以患者为中心的在线医疗社区中寻求社会支持的双重影响：一项纵向研究

这项研究调查了以患者为中心的在线医疗社区（POHC）的探索性和有目的性的社会寻求支持行为。考察了这两种行为对诊断和治疗不确定性的影响。在三个POHC中，用户之间进行了两轮现场调查。研究结果表明，探索性和有目的性的寻求社会支持的行为对疾病不确定性的变化产生不同的影响，并且受到用户感知的信息可信度，他们对社区的认同以及疾病的严重程度的影响。