Facebook Users’ Satisfaction and Intention to Continue Using It: Applying the Expectation Confirmation Model

The use of social media for health communication has grown enormously worldwide. Whilst research concerning the potential benefits and barriers of using social media is rich and ever expanding, only a few studies looked at the fundamental reasons why social networking users continue to use Facebook for accessing health-related support groups and communicating with the healthcare professionals. Based on the expectation confirmation model (ECM), this study aims to uncover the factors that explain users’ intention to continue using Facebook for health-related matters. A sample size of 239 respondents was collected to test the proposed theoretical framework, using the structural equation modelling technique. Our findings indicate that the most important drivers of continuance intention of Facebook are satisfaction, perceived usefulness, information quality and social support, whilst confirmation of expectation, information quality and social support are determinants of satisfaction. This study offers new insights into the domain of post-technology adoption and health communication literature. It also provides important information for healthcare providers on how to improve the effectiveness of social network-based interactions.