Does Cultural Communication Strategy in Metaverse affect International Students’ Mental Health? Moderating effects of Cyberchondria and Healthcare Disparity

Abstract

The present study examined the mental health of international students through cultural communication strategy in the metaverse with the moderating effects of cyberchondria and healthcare disparity. The relevance of this research study can be made evident with the ongoing trends of today’s world. In the present time, the concept of virtual reality in the metaverse has become one of the most important and debatable topics all around the globe. The concept of metaverse has led to the evolution of the Internet as a whole which can create direct impacts on the real world too. The target country of the current research is China. In order to gather information for the study, the researchers employed a questionnaire technique. A total of 335 surveys were sent out to Chinese medical students; 320 were deemed relevant for the study.  In order to measure the variables using measurement scales, questionnaires are created using various items from the variables. The results obtained after analyzing the questionnaires indicated a significant relationship between cultural communication in the metaverse and the mental health of internal Chinese students from medical universities. The moderating impact of healthcare disparity was found to be significant and the cyberchondria entails an insignificant impact on the cultural communication in the metaverse and the mental health of students. The present study is found to be beneficial in promoting cultural communication between international students and local students for promoting the better exchange of cultural values. The 3D virtual environment used for conducting the present study has also helped in improving communication as well as interactions. However, from the present research study, it was concluded that cultural communication is essential for promoting the mental health of international students as this could be beneficial in obtaining skillful professionals for various businesses. The current study added novelty by focusing on cultural communication in the metaverse but it has prevented the study to focus on many essential aspects which are experienced by international students in the real world.