Are Older Adults Special in Adopting Public eHealth Service Initiatives? The Modified Model of UTAUT

• Published in: SAGE open 2024-01, Vol.14 (1)
• Main Authors: Lu, Chiung-Chih, Tsai-Lin, Tung-Fei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Older people; Telemedicine
• ISSN: 2158-2440; 2158-2440
• DOI: 10.1177/21582440241228639

With rapid aging and the spread of chronic diseases, public eHealth services are helpful tools to monitor their physiological situations and develop healthy behaviors. However, the studies on older adults adopting public eHealth services have been relatively limited. We propose a modified United Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, considering the unique adoption patterns of older people. Our study shows that older adults adopting patterns are influenced first by social influence (SI) and facilitating conditions (FC), then influenced by performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE). This model includes two moderating effects of performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE) between two external constructs of social influence (SI), facilitating conditions (FC), and older adults’ behavioral intention (BI) to adopt public eHealth services. A dataset of 510 questionnaires was collected on the use of a self-monitoring telecare device (Babybot) in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. The results demonstrate that SI and FC positively influence older adults’ adoption of public eHealth services. Furthermore, PE positively moderates the relationship between FC and BI, while EE positively moderates the relationships between FC and BI, and between SI and BI. The findings reveal that PE and EE moderate SI and FC in affecting older adults’ adoption of public eHealth services. This modified UTAUT model provides insights into the unique factors that drive older adults’ adoption behavior. This study offers valuable policy and managerial implications for promoting older adults’ adoption of public eHealth services. Plain Language Summary The study focuses on the adoption of public eHealth services by older adults, considering the challenges posed by rapid aging and the prevalence of chronic diseases. The modified United Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model is proposed to account for the unique adoption patterns of older people. Social influence (SI) and facilitating conditions (FC) are found to have the greatest influence on older adults’ adoption patterns, followed by performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE). The model also includes two moderating effects of PE and EE between SI, FC, and older adults’ behavioral intention (BI) to adopt public eHealth services. Data from 510 questionnaires on the use of a self-monitoring telecare device in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, show that SI and FC positively influence older adults’ ado