Exploring user acceptance of a text-message based health intervention

Abstract

Information technology has been used in diverse ways. It has been utilized to reduce costs in the public sector and increase consumer satisfaction in the private sector. Technology may also be instrumental in improving individuals' healthy behaviors. For instance, statistics suggest that technology-based interventions may promote healthy sexual behaviors; however, few studies have explored willingness to participate in technology mediated interventions. This study uses Diffusion of Innovation Theory to identify factors that influence one's intention to use a text-message service to receive sexual health information. The results indicate that technology adoption factors rather than risk beliefs and privacy concerns impacted participant's intention to use a text-message intervention. The findings of this study have significant implications for innovative uses of technology to promote health. © 2014 IEEE.