Determinants of Telehealth Continuance Intention: A Multi-Perspective Framework

Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Oct 15;10(10):2038. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10102038.

Abstract

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries' physicians in the world have used telehealth to visit patients via telehealth. The study aimed to integrate the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and self-determination theory (SDT) to explore the adoption behavior of a telehealth system. A convenient sample of residents was drawn from the population of Nantou County in Taiwan and analyzed via structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that attitude, perceived behavioral control, perceived usefulness, and perceived autonomy support jointly have significantly positive effects on continuance intention. Results also confirmed that perceived autonomy support, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness jointly have significantly positive effects on attitude. Furthermore, this study also showed that a crucial mediators' role is played by perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude. The conclusions and practical implications of the research will hopefully provide health organizations and institutions with some innovative insights and foresights, which in turn will promote better practices and services of telehealth technology.

Keywords: self-determination theory; technology acceptance model; telehealth; the theory of planned behavior.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.