This study takes HPV vaccine promotion on Chinese social media platforms (taking WeChat as a case) as the research focus. Grounded in Van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of “discourse as the recontextualization of social practice” and O’Halloran’s multimodal recontextualization analytical model, it systematically compares multimodal strategies between an official medical guideline and a popular WeChat article in health communication. The study demonstrates that multimodal resources significantly shape public risk perception and behavioral motivation: WeChat posts enhance the accessibility and persuasiveness of health information by reducing cognitive load (e.g., simplified representation of vaccine mechanism), evoking emotional resonance (e.g., vivid illustrations of young female patients), and increasing legitimation via personifying viruses. Through the analysis, the findings reveal that official documents construct scientific authority through professional terminology, data tables, and hierarchical layouts, whereas WeChat articles employ visual metaphors (e.g., anthropomorphic virus imagery), emotional narratives, and interactive designs to reconstruct the social practice of vaccination. On the above basis, this research not only highlights the potential of multimodal discourse in digital public health interventions but also provides methodological insights for increasing public acceptance in health communication. Future studies could investigate audience’s acceptance or cross-cultural comparisons, exploring in-depth understanding of the communicative power of multimodal public health discourse.

[Purpose/Significance] This study aims to reveal how grounded theory is being used in information management in China and the challenges it faces. The goal is to help standardize how this method is applied and to encourage its systematic use in the field. [Method/Process] Based on the bibliometric tool of CiteSpace, the basic characteristics of 595 relevant Chinese publications were analyzed. The study reviews the current applications of grounded theory in China's information management field, identifies existing challenges in its applications, and explores potential future development trends of this method within the field. [Results/Conclusions] The findings show a steady increase in publications utilizing grounded theory, mostly focusing on topics like analyzing influencing factors, building fundamental theories, understanding user needs, and improving management practices. There is potential for future integration of grounded theory with quantitative methods to enhance analytical precision.