Why Chinese adult children seek health information for their aged parents: applying the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking to proxy information seeking

China, with the world’s largest elderly population, faces rapid aging and widespread chronic health conditions, affecting over 78% of its senior citizens. The digital divide limits middle-aged and older adults from accessing online health information, making adult children’s proxy health information-seeking a crucial intervention. However, research on this behavior is scarce. This study extends the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) to investigate the mechanisms behind proxy health information-seeking behaviors among 490 adult children in China through an online survey. The results reveal that belief, Internet self-efficacy, and channel characteristics positively influence channel utility, while salience does not. Channel characteristics and utility significantly predict proxy information-seeking behaviors, with channel utility mediating the relationships between belief, Internet self-efficacy, and channel characteristics. These findings offer valuable insights for Chinese policymakers and health educators in designing and disseminating health information effectively, encouraging adult children to support their aging parents.

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