Patient acceptance of an online self-management tool for COPD: extending the Technology Acceptance Model 2 with patient determinants. (Preprint)
BACKGROUND Acceptance among users of online self-management tools is an important prerequisite for their successful implementation. However, research on factors influencing patients’ acceptance of these tools is limited. OBJECTIVE This study aims to increase our understanding of these factors by employing the Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) to identify determinants of patients’ acceptance of MyCOPDcoach, an online self-management tool for COPD patients. METHODS COPD patients from two hospitals in the Netherlands received an adjusted version of the TAM2 questionnaire. Additionally, they were invited for a telephone interview. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed using different regression analyses to study the associations between factors in the TAM model with Intention to Use, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. RESULTS Seventy-four patients responded to the questionnaire (67,9 percent). Additionally eight patients actively using MyCOPDcoach and eight inactive patients were interviewed by phone. Our adjusted TAM2 model explained 58% of the variance in intention to use MyCOPDcoach. Age, gender and severity of COPD did not show a significant association with intention to use, but relevance for disease management did show a direct association with intention to use. Patients’ perceived ease of use of MyCOPDcach did no longer independently affect the intention of patients to use MyCOPDcoach when relevance for disease management was added to the model. CONCLUSIONS Our adjusted TAM2 model can be used to explore factors influencing patients’ acceptance of other online self-management tools. Our results may help in developing and improving online self-management tools or to deploy strategies to enhance patient acceptance of these tools.