Document is current

Article History

Received: 6 December 2024

Accepted: 29 October 2025

First Online: 12 December 2025

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: In accordance with the ethical guidelines established by the National Health Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China ( ), our research is categorized under life science research due to the use of sociological methods for behavioral data collection. However, it does not involve any life science or medical issues, nor does it include the collection of biospecimens, health records, or sensitive personal information. Per Article 32 of the National Guidelines for Scientific Research Ethics Review, studies involving human data or anonymized information—where there is no harm to participants, no sensitive personal information or commercial interests, and no relevance to life science or medical topics—are eligible for exemption from ethical review. This provision is intended to alleviate unnecessary burdens on researchers and foster the development of life science and medical research. Specifically, Article 32, Item 2 allows for exemption from ethical review for research utilizing anonymized data. Our study fully complies with this criterion, as it involved a voluntary questionnaire, ensuring complete anonymization of participant responses. The data collected is non-sensitive, non-medical, and unrelated to life science research. After thorough consideration, the School of Business and Management at Jiaxingnanhu University, Zhejiang, China confirmed on February 25, 2024, that ethical approval is waived for this study, classifying it under minimal risk research. Consequently, no specific ethical approval number has been assigned. Additionally, the study adheres to the ethical standards set forth in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki.

: Informed consent was obtained in writing from all participants on March 1, 2024. The consent clearly outlined the study’s purpose, data collection scope, and agreement to the publication of the research results. Participants were assured that their anonymity and confidentiality would be maintained, and that the collected data would be used exclusively for research analysis and not disclosed to third parties. They were informed that participation was voluntary, and they could withdraw at any time without any consequences. As the study involved non-interventional research, participants were assured that there were no risks associated with their participation.