Technology Readiness and Wearables Acceptance in Healthcare

OBJECTIVES: The use of wearable devices for healthcare can significantly contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, in addition to allowing the monitoring of patients remotely, through the collection and sharing of patients' physiological data. This can save time for patients and resources for the healthcare industry. However, despite the existing potential benefits, the use of these devices is still incipient in society, so this study sought to identify the main factors that can influence consumers to adopt wearable devices for healthcare. This article analyzes the drivers for patient adoption of wearable technologies for healthcare and proposes a model for wearable healthcare technology acceptance and adoption.

METHODS: Cross-sectional survey study employing descriptive analysis and Structural Equations Modeling on data collected from 424 adult patients (18-75 years). Wearable technology adoption was assessed by measuring patient Attitude and Behavioral Intention toward adopting the technology. Self-efficacy, Trust, Technology Readiness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Perceived Usefulness were assessed as drivers for wearable adoption for healthcare purposes.

RESULTS: Findings indicate significant relationships among the evaluated constructs, particularly for the effects of patient Self-efficacy perceptions (0.786) and patient Technology Readiness (0.454) on Perceived Ease of Use of wearable technology for health purposes and the impacts of Perceived Usefulness (0.949) on the patient Attitude towards using wearable technologies for health care. The model could explain 87.2% of the variance in patient Attitude and 44.8% in patient Behavioral Intention to adopt wearables for healthcare.

CONCLUSIONS: Study findings indicate important practical insights for healthcare organizations and public healthcare regulators regarding wearables adoption for healthcare purposes, such as the impact of patient self-confidence and familiarity with technologies, their technological readiness and perception of the immediate usefulness of the digital technology, and the reduced impact of the ease of use of technology on one’s attitude toward technology adoption.