Mobile health (mhealth): facilitators and barriers of the intention of use in patients with chronic illnesses

Abstract

Background: Although the potential of mobile health (mHealth) is extraordinary the implementation is still very scarce. As patients have many sources of information, investing in mHealth requires a previous knowledge of mHealth preference. The purpose of this study is to analyse preference and intention of using mobile health services by patients with chronic diseases. Method: We have designed a structural equation model to examine how motivations (digital information, social network, improving of manual records), perceived risks (effort, inadequate privacy, inadequate information) and social influence affect the preference and the intention of using mHealth. An exploratory online survey of 181 patients was carried out to test the proposed model. Results: Variables such as digital information, perceived effort and social influence increase the intention of using mHealth. On the other hand, inadequate information acts as a barrier that restrains the intention of using mHealth. These results contribute to drawing attention to the peculiarities that transferring mobile communication technologies to the field of healthcare may entail. Although participants in this exploratory study only included patients with haemophilia, the results may have implications for other types of chronic disease settings that require dealing with great amounts of information. Conclusions: This study provides implications for designers of mHealth, health care professionals and policy-makers in order to enhance the use of mHealth. The findings of this research challenge the notion that privacy concerns are an obstacle for using mHealth. An excessive simplicity of mHealth may send out a message of mistrust.