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Article History

Received: 22 April 2024

Accepted: 10 June 2025

First Online: 21 June 2025

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study was conducted entirely online in the People’s Republic of China between November 24, 2022 and December 26, 2023. All participants accessed the survey through a web link and were located in China at the time of participation.

: In accordance with China’s Measures for Ethical Review of Life Science and Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (Document No. Guo Wei Ke Jiao Fa [2023] 4), Article 32(2) (), research that “uses anonymized informational data,” causes no bodily harm, and does not involve sensitive personal information or commercial interests is exempt from ethical review. Because our protocol (1) collected only fully anonymized questionnaire responses, (2) involved no experimental interventions, and (3) posed no more than minimal risk to participants, this project is exempt from IRB oversight under Article 32(2).

: All data were collected via an online survey administered between November 24, 2022, and December 26, 2023. Prior to accessing the questionnaire, participants first viewed an information page that detailed the study’s objectives, voluntary nature, anonymity safeguards, and intended use of data for academic research only. This page explicitly stated that participation was entirely voluntary, that respondents could withdraw at any time without penalty, and that no personally identifiable information would be retained. Participants were then prompted to indicate their consent by clicking an “I Agree” button; only those who provided consent on that page were automatically routed to the screening question and subsequent survey items. The date and time of consent were logged electronically. This procedure ensured that informed consent was obtained before any screening or survey questions were presented and within the specified data‐collection period.