Trust in health information websites: A systematic literature review on the antecedents of online trust

Abstract

Health websites are important sources of information for consumers. In choosing websites, trust in websites largely determines which website to access and how to best utilize the information. Thus, it is critical to understand why consumers trust certain websites and distrust others. A systematic literature review was conducted with the goal of identifying the antecedents of trust in health information websites. After four rounds of screening process, 20 articles between 2000 and 2013 were harvested. Factors that determine trust are classified into individual difference antecedents, website-related antecedents, and consumer-towebsite interaction-related antecedents. The most frequently studied antecedents were socio-demographics, information quality, appearance, and perceived reputation of the website. Each antecedent of trust are discussed in detail and future research directions are proposed.