This paper contributes to the discussion on patient engagement in online health communities (OHCs) by integrating channel expansion and social exchange theories. Using survey data from 348 users of OHC, we examine the impacts of perceived channel richness, social support, and willingness to exchange information on OHC engagement. Results show that the perceived channel richness positively influences OHC engagement. The effect of patients’ willingness to share and seek information on engagement is moderated by health status. Finally, engagement in OHCs enhances self-care efficacy and perceived health outcomes. We propose several theoretical implications for researchers and practical contributions for OHC administrators.

本文通过整合渠道扩展和社交交流理论，为有关患者参与在线健康社区（OHC）的讨论做出了贡献。使用来自OHC的348个用户的调查数据，我们检查了感知到的渠道丰富性，社会支持以及交换有关OHC参与信息的意愿的影响。结果表明，感知到的渠道丰富度积极影响OHC参与度。患者共享和寻求参与信息的意愿的影响受到健康状况的影响。最后，参与OHC可以增强自我保健的功效和感知的健康结果。我们为研究人员提出了一些理论上的建议，并为OHC管理人员提供了实用的建议。