ACCEPTANCE OF SUSTAINED UTILIZATION BEHAVIOR OF TELEMEDICINE IN THE POST-COVID-19 ERA

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading around the world, and Taiwan is no exception. Faced with the outbreak of the epidemic, the Taiwan government immediately ordered a policy of banning indoor dining. The main purpose of the present research is to extend a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theoretical framework to explore acceptance of sustained utilization behavior of telemedicine in the post-COVID-19 era. An online survey was administered in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic from February 22 to April 6, 2022, and a total of 359 responses were collected by convenience sampling method, and partial least square (PLS) analysis was deployed to examine the hypothesized relationships. The results showed that the sustained utilization behavior of telemedicine had independent significant associations with behavioral intentions; the behavioral intention had independent significant associations with subjective norms, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. Moreover, perceived usefulness had independent significant associations with perceived ease of use. This study provides theoretical and practical insights into the psychological and behavioral processes of public use of telemedicine during the post-COVID-19 pandemic, thereby helping policymakers better understand the important developmental implications of telemedicine.