Abstract

Efforts to reduce chronic disease disparities increasingly rely on digital health platforms to deliver prevention information and behavioral guidance. However, the availability of online health resources does not guarantee that individuals will engage with them or incorporate digital information into health decision making. This study examined digital health information seeking among African American women by assessing motivational readiness to use the Internet for health information and exploring how participants evaluated a culturally tailored nutrition and physical activity portal. Guided by the Transtheoretical Model, digital health engagement was conceptualized as a behavioral process shaped by readiness and cognitive evaluation. A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used with 206 African American women who reviewed the portal and completed structured survey measures and open-ended responses. Quantitative measures included the Website Attitudes and Beliefs scale (WAB-10) and the Stage of Change for Using the Computer and Internet to Access Health Care Information scale (SOCCIAHCI-7). Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and backward stepwise multiple regression to examine predictors of portal evaluation, while qualitative responses were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Regression results indicated that stronger endorsement of website clarity and usability, lower educational attainment, and higher self-perceived weight status were associated with more favorable portal evaluations. Qualitative findings showed that participants evaluated the portal based on trust conveyed through respectful tone, culturally relevant representation, and navigational simplicity. Overall, the findings suggest that digital health engagement reflects behavioral readiness and interpretive processes involving trust, representation, and contextual relevance rather than technological access alone.

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