Influenza Prevention in the Digital Era: Examining the Relationship between Information-Seeking Behaviors and Vaccination Intentions among College Students in Guangzhou

This study investigates the determinants of influenza vaccination intentions among college students in China within the context of concurrent outbreaks of respiratory infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and influenza, during the early 2024 influenza epidemic season dominated by the H1N1 subtype. College students are particularly vulnerable to influenza outbreaks, which impose substantial economic and psychological burdens. Despite these risks, influenza vaccination rates in this population remain consistently low. In the digital era, the Internet has become a primary source of influenza-related information for college students, making it critical to understand the behavioral effects of online information-seeking. However, limited research has examined the influence of information-seeking behaviors on vaccination intentions among this population. Guided by the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, this study constructs and evaluates a conceptual framework to explore the relationships between influenza information-seeking behaviors, salience, perceived information credibility and utility, and vaccination intentions. Data was collected through an online survey of 647 college students in Guangzhou. Structural equation modeling results revealed that influenza-related health information-seeking behaviors directly promote vaccination intentions. Moreover, influenza salience mediated the relationship between information-seeking behaviors and vaccination intentions. Perceived information credibility and utility further served as mediators, either sequentially or in parallel, reinforcing these relationships. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of influenza vaccination intentions in the digital era and provides practical recommendations for government agencies and health communication practitioners to enhance vaccination uptake among college students.