Publication date: Jul 07, 2025

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted global health. Considering the benefits of physical activity (PA) for improving health, this study focuses on enhancing PA among groups with different COVID-19 experiences. Guided by self-efficacy and self-regulation theories, this study examines how health self-efficacy (HSE) increases PA, with using health information technology (IT) for self-regulation serving as a mediating factor across three groups: uninfected (Group 1), infected without symptoms (Group 2), and infected with symptoms (Group 3). Specifically, this study investigates the moderating role of COVID-19 experiences in the indirect effects of HSE on PA through health IT use. Additionally, we conduct supplementary multiple comparisons of HSE across different groups. An online survey was conducted among 5,516 Chinese adults, with data analyzed using ANOVA and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings revealed the mediating role of health IT use. Moreover, the interaction effect of HSE and adults with post-COVID symptoms (vs. adults without COVID-19 infection) on using health IT for self-regulation was significant. Differences in HSE were found across groups, with the highest level observed in Group 2.

Semantics

Original Article