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Top1. Introduction
The worldwide occurrence of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has triggered the move to distant employment in several industries to avert the increase of this contagious disease. As immediate person-to-person communication is being avoided, users’ engagement conduct has promptly shifted to online channels. Consequently, COVID-19 has aided in the enhancement of digital structure in various activities (Kim, 2020). For instance, corporations have established cloud-centered information technology structures to follow novel prospects in contribution to contactless facilities comprising developed telemedicine, electronic education, cell phone dealings, cell phone software, and video conferencing. Contemplating the substantial worldwide revival and variations of COVID-19 and its effect on user conduct, along with the path of innovations in digital structures, it is acceptable to speculate that the “contactless” era is now. Furthermore, it has been discovered that, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, contactless facilities utilizing innovative technologies are prone to penetrate individuals' everyday lives (Lee & Lee, 2021).
Online healthcare community (OHC) is a type of healthcare-oriented online social network. Users interact on the OHC platform to share knowledge and support each other to solve health-related problems (e.g., treatment, disease, exercise, diet) (Josefsson, 2005; Van der Eijk et al., 2013; Zhao & Widdows, 2016; Zhao et al., 2015). It have a mitigating effect on the tight and uneven distribution of health care resources, on the other hand, they save users' time and money costs for medical visits and provide better privacy protection, thus becoming one of the main channels for people to obtain health information(Xiao et al., 2014). Unlike the traditional doctor-centered one-way medical model, OHC provide an open online platform for users to exchange information, ask questions, and share experiences on healthcare-related issues (Maloney-Krichmar & Preece, 2005). Josefsson (2005) argues that OHC are often initiated by patients, information services, or health care delivery organizations to provide communication opportunities that are not possible in traditional health care delivery systems. The powerful “doctor-patient” interaction of OHC can help patients effectively manage their health daily, especially for patients with chronic diseases (Van der Eijk et al., 2013). It follows that OHC are usually platforms for activities such as information sharing, expert consultation, and user exchange on health or treatment-related issues using the internet.
Besides, OHC users shared a common identity, often share treatment experiences, provide solutions to common health problems (Adams, 2010; Chuang & Yang, 2012), and meet the health information needs of users. Conversely, users also engage in seemingly off-topic discussions, which can help them get to know each other better in the process, bringing them closer together and weakening the sense of isolation. Some studies have pointed out that emotional and social communication can be effective in providing and obtaining peer support (Hoey et al., 2008; Nath et al., 2016). Therefore, as a high social value online community, “patient-patient” communication is also one of the key factors for the success of OHC, and the active participation of patients is related to the increase of OHC user satisfaction and user stickiness (Iriberri & Leroy, 2009).