Determinants of Physicians' Technology Acceptance for Mobile Health Services in Healthcare Settings

Abstract

Introduction: World Health Organization reports indicated that the image of health care service delivery has changed by application of mobile health and wireless technologies for supporting and achieving the objectives of the health industry. The present study aimed to determine the level of physicians’ familiarity and investigate the factors affecting the acceptance of mobile health from the viewpoint of physicians working in educational hospitals of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences.Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in the southeast of Iran in 2016. The statistical population included all physicians working in five University Teaching Hospitals (n=150). In this study, systematic random sampling was used. A validated questionnaire, prepared based on the variables of Technology Acceptance Model 2 and models, was used for data collection. To analyze the data, we used descriptive and analytical statistics (Confirmatory Factor Analysis, linear and multiple regression).Results: Most of the respondents (112, or 74.4%) were female and 84 of them (56%) were less than 30 years old. All of the physicians (specialist and general physician) used Smartphones. The score of perceived usefulness, behavioral intention, perceived enjoyment, subjective norm, perceived ease of use, image, volunteering, and objective usability constructs were higher than the average baseline, representing the acceptance of mobile phone by them. The relationship of all the constructs with each other towards the attitudinal and behavioral objectives of the mobile health services acceptance was significant (P< 0.05). However, demonstrability construct had no correlation with perceived usefulness (P>0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study provide useful information to health managers and policymakers so that they can take steps to improve the quality of services using modern technologies. Plans can also be made by considering the factors as behavioral acceptance of mobile health and other effective factors to increase the willingness to use it.Keywords: Mobile Health, Physician, Acceptance