Cultural Drivers of Health Engagement

Given the well-documented relationship between lifestyle, disease burden, and health care costs, there is a greater need to investigate individual factors in health-related attitudes and behaviors. This research extends the rich knowledge developed around engagement, in particular customer engagement, to a new, understudied setting—namely, public health—and establishes the concept of health engagement, defined as individuals’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioral investments in health-related interactions centered around managing and taking care of their health. In addition, the current work investigates cultural drivers of the health engagement construct. A multinational survey of 1,208 participants reveals that uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence are positively related to the salience of one's health, which, in turn, motivates health engagement and, by extension, improves physical and psychological health outcomes. Finally, the authors provide actionable insights for policy makers, public health actors, and business managers who seek to develop health engagement to improve overall public health.