Documentation, Informaiton & Knowledge ›› 2025, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (6): 74-86.doi: 10.13366/j.dik.2025.06.074

• Intelligence, Information & Sharing • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Motivations Behind Beauty: An Analysis of the Motivations for Information-Seeking Behavior Among Medical Aesthetics Users

QIAN Qianwen1, XIA Sudi2, WANG Dongyi3, TAN Lirong4, WANG Fan1, WANG Haowei1   

  1. 1. School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072;
    2. School of Health Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210046;
    3.Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden(The Netherlands), 2311EZ;
    4. Yichang Central People's Hospital, Yichang, 443003
  • Online:2025-11-10 Published:2026-01-17
  • Contact: Correspondence should be addressed to QIAN Qianwen, Email: 3499280372@qq.com, ORCID: 0000-0003-4956-4045
  • Supported by:
    This is an outcome of the project "Study on the Efficiency of Physicians' Knowledge Services in Online Medical Communities from the Perspective of Value Co-Creation "(2024SJYB0257)supported by a grant from the Higher Education Philosophy and Social Science Research Program of Jiangsu Province, and the Youth Talent Project "Thematic Analysis and Quantitative Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Elderly Health and Wellness Policies Based on Text Association Mining"(QN202307)supported by a grant from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Development Program of Jiangsu Province.

Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] This study aims to explore the motivations behind health information-seeking behaviors among medical aesthetics users, addressing gaps in existing research and providing insights for the development of information platforms. [Design/Methodology] This study employs the Q method to identify core motivation patterns in health information-seeking behavior among medical aesthetics users, and analyzes the consensus and differences among users with varying motivational patterns. [Findings/Conclusion] Five distinct motivation patterns of health information-seeking behavior are identified: high-quality information seeking-oriented, precise demand and capability-oriented, self-value enhancement-oriented, interaction and support dependency-oriented, and repair information service-oriented. Users with different motivation patterns agree that seeking health information can save time and money but it also poses associated privacy and security risks. Furthermore, users with varying motivation patterns exhibit differing perceptions of platform quality. [Originality/Value] This study examines the health information-seeking behavior of medical aesthetics users, a crucial yet underexplored topic. It expands the research perspectives in health informatics and medical aesthetics field, and enriching the understanding of users' motivations for seeking health information.

Keywords: Medical aesthetics users, Q method, Health information-seeking behavior, Motivation patterns