Background: Wearable device technology has recently been involved in the healthcare industry substantially. India is the world's third largest market for wearable devices and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of ~26.33%. However, there is a paucity of literature analyzing the factors determining the acceptance of wearable healthcare device technology among low-middle-income countries.
Methods: This cross-sectional, web-based survey aims to analyze the perceptions affecting the adoption and usage of wearable devices among the Indian population aged 16 years and above.
Results: A total of 495 responses were obtained. In all, 50.3% were aged between 25-50 years and 51.3% belonged to the lower-income group. While 62.2% of the participants reported using wearable devices for managing their health, 29.3% were using them daily. technology and task fitness (TTF) showed a significant positive correlation with connectivity (r = 0.716), health care (r = 0.780), communication (r = 0.637), infotainment (r = 0.598), perceived usefulness (PU) (r = 0.792), and perceived ease of use (PEOU) (r = 0.800). Behavioral intention (BI) to use wearable devices positively correlated with PEOU (r = 0.644) and PU (r = 0.711). All factors affecting the use of wearable devices studied had higher mean scores among participants who were already using wearable devices. Male respondents had significantly higher mean scores for BI (p = 0.034) and PEOU (p = 0.009). Respondents older than 25 years of age had higher mean scores for BI (p = 0.027) and Infotainment (p = 0.032).
Conclusions: This study found a significant correlation with the adoption and acceptance of wearable devices for healthcare management in the Indian context.
Keywords: fitness devices; infotainment; mobile health; wearable healthcare devices; wearable technology.