Effect of barrier related factors on perceived usefulness and ease of use of social media applications in the Australian healthcare sector

Despite the growing popularity of social media internationally, an extant review of the literature revealed a low rate of social media usage among healthcare professionals. While cynicism amongst healthcare professionals might be a reason, there might be other factors that could explain healthcare professionals’ reluctance to use social media in their practices. This research investigated potential barriers that affected healthcare professionals’ behavioural intention to use social media. A cross-sectional survey was randomly administered to 824 healthcare professionals working in Australian healthcare organisations. At the end of data collection, 219 usable responses were collected. Analysis of data via structural equation model (SEM) found that perceived trust, privacy threats, professional boundary, facilitating conditions and self-efficacy significantly influence the notion of perceived usefulness and ease of use. In addition, information quality directly influences health professionals’ perceived ease of utilising social media technology. The result also indicated that gender moderates the relationship between barrier-related factors and perceived usefulness and ease of use. This study’s findings have important implications for healthcare providers and policymakers regarding medical professionals’ perceptions of the potential challenges in using social media as well as developing strategies to counter misinformation against the backdrop of COVID-19.

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Health consumers’ social media adoption behaviours in Australia

Health Informatics Journal ◽

10.1177/14604582211009917 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 146045822110099

Author(s):

Irfanuzzaman Khan ◽

Md Abu Saleh ◽

Ali Quazi ◽

Raechel Johns

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Technology Acceptance ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Information Quality ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Perceived Ease Of Use ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Consumers

This research identifies the underlying drivers impacting on health consumers’ social media usage and acceptance behaviours using technology acceptance model (TAM) as the theoretical lens. A cross-sectional survey of 265 health consumers was conducted through a mall intercept technique. Participants in the survey were over the age of 18 and had access to a public or private healthcare service provider. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The major findings show that perceived ease of use, privacy threat, information quality, social influence and self-efficacy influence health consumers’ social media adoption behaviours. Perceived usefulness was not found to affect health consumers’ social media adoption behaviours. The moderation analysis showed that influences of privacy threats are non-significant for mature age respondents and non-frequent users of social media. This study’s findings have important implications for designing social media strategies for the healthcare industry. The drivers that positively impact on health consumers’ social media usages can be integrated into meaningful strategies to capture the attention of potential consumers. They need to be educated, informed and engaged as health consumers so that they employ social media effectively to their advantage.

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Health professionals’ social media usage behaviour: A study of the perceived barriers (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.16051 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Md Irfanuzzaman Khan ◽

Jennifer (M.I) Loh ◽

Abu Saleh ◽

Ali Quazi

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Technology Acceptance ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Perceived Barriers ◽

Healthcare Sector ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Media Usage

BACKGROUND : Despite the growing popularity of social media internationally, a scan of the extant literature reveals that social media usage preference among health professionals are relatively lower than health consumers. While cynicism amongst health professionals could be the major reason, it is still unknown as to whether there are other factors affecting health professionals’ reluctance to use social media for health communication. OBJECTIVE This research investigates if health professionals perceive any possible barriers that may stand in the way of their social media usage behaviour by testing a new theoretical model drawn from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). METHODS The population for this study comprises Australian health professionals using social media, and working in hospitals, clinics and other clinical facilities. Based on a random sampling technique a cross-sectional survey was administered to 824 health professionals. The database used in this research comprised 219 responses yielding a response rate of 27 percent which is deemed acceptable given the nature of the topic being investigated. Data are analysed using the structural equation model (SEM) technique. RESULTS Findings indicated that Facebook is the most popular social media platform which is used by 46.5% of health professionals. YouTube is the second most popular platform used by health professionals (44.7%), followed by 25.1% of health professionals utilising Twitter, and 21.4% of health professionals who used LinkedIn. On average, only 8.8% of health professionals regularly access physician-only networks, and only 7.7% of health professionals used online blogs. In terms of perceived social media barriers, the SEM model demonstrated very good model fit (χ2 = 602.643; df, 233, χ2/df = 2.586, IFI = .91, TLI = .89, and CFI = .91) and indicates that information quality (P = .003), perceived trust (P = .008), professional boundary (P < .001), and supporting conditions ( P = .02) are key antecedents of perceived barriers of social media usage in the healthcare sector. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study have important implications for healthcare providers and policy-makers regarding health professionals’ perceptions of the potential challenges of using social media in healthcare. The barriers emerging from this study call for an effective social media usage policy to provide health professionals and patients with a guideline for maximising the potential benefits with more emphasis on the appropriate strategies designed to overcome the problems. Findings further suggest that healthcare professionals need to be educated, informed and engaged in facing the challenges posed by such barriers. Finally, these insights could be useful in developing social media guidelines and strategies so that the healthcare benefits for the community in general and health service clients in particular are maximised.

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Social Media Platforms for Health Communication and Research in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross Sectional Survey in Uganda

10.1101/2020.04.30.20086553 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ronald Olum ◽

Felix Bongomin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Response Rate ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Health Campaigns ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Public Health Campaigns

ABSTRACTObjectives(1) To examine the usage of social media and other forms of media among medical students (MS) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Uganda. (2) To assess the perceived usefulness of social media and other forms of media for COVID-19 public health campaigns.DesignA descriptive WhatsApp messenger-based cross-sectional survey in April 2020.SettingMakerere University Teaching Hospitals (MUTH) and 9 of the 10 medical schools in Uganda.ParticipantsHCPs at MUTH and MS in the 9 medical schools in Uganda.Main outcome measuresWe collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, sources of information on COVID-19, preferences of social media platform and perceived usefulness of the different media platforms for acquisition of knowledge on COVID-19.ResultOverall, response rate was 21.5% for both MS and HCPs. In total, 877 (HCPS [136, 15.5%], MS [741, 85.5%]) were studied. Majority (n=555, 63.3%) were male with a median age of 24 (range: 18-66) years. Social media was a source of information for 665 (75.8%) participants. Usage was similar among MS and HCPs (565/741 (76.2%) vs. 100/136 (73.5%), p=0.5). Among the MS, commonly used social media were: WhatsApp (n=705, 95.1%) Facebook (n=405, 54.8%), Twitter (n=290, 39.1%), Instagram (n=178, 24.0) and Telegram (n=80, 10.8%). Except for WhatsApp, male MS we more likely to use the other social media platforms (p= <0.001 − 0.01). Mass media (television and radio) and social media were preferred the most useful tools for dissemination of COVID-19 related information.ConclusionMore than two-thirds of MS and HCPs are routinely using social media in Uganda. Social media platforms may be used for dissemination of information as well as a research tool among MS and HCPs. Social media alongside other media platforms can also be used as sources of reliable information on COVID-19 as well as for dissemination of research findings and guidelines.Strengths and limitationsThis is the first study in sub Saharan Africa on the use of social media for research during the COVID-19 pandemic.The study also explores perceived usefulness of different media for COVID-19 public health campaigns.Diversity of the participants consisting both healthcare professionals and medical students.A relatively large sample size was enrolled in the survey despite a low response rate.

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Knowledge of and preparedness for COVID-19 among Somali healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0259981 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. e0259981

Author(s):

Jude Alawa ◽

Lucas Walz ◽

Samir Al-Ali ◽

Nikhil Harle ◽

Eleanor Wiles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

International Health ◽

Limited Resource ◽

Median Number ◽

Healthcare Personnel ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional

Background Somalia is considered severely underprepared to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, with critical shortages in healthcare personnel and treatment resources. In limited-resource settings such as Somalia, providing healthcare workers with adequate information on COVID-19 is crucial to improve patient outcomes and mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study assessed the knowledge of, preparedness for, and perceptions toward COVID-19 prevention and treatment among Somali healthcare workers. Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was completed by 364 Somali healthcare workers in summer of 2020 utilizing a convenience sampling method. Results Participants’ most accessed sources of COVID-19 information were from social media (64.8%), official government and international health organization websites (51.1%,), and traditional media sources such as radio, TV, and newspapers (48.1%). A majority of participants demonstrated strong knowledge of treatment of COVID-19, the severity of COVID-19, and the possible outcomes of COVID-19, but only 5 out of 10 symptoms listed were correctly identified by more than 75% of participants. Although participants indicated seeing a median number of 10 patients per week with COVID-19 related symptoms, access to essential medical resources, such as N95 masks (30.2%), facial protective shields (24.5%), and disposable gowns (21.4%), were limited. Moreover, 31.3% agreed that Somalia was in a good position to contain an emerging outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, 40.4% of participants agreed that the Somali government’s response to the pandemic was sufficient to protect Somali healthcare professionals. Conclusion This study provides evidence for the need to equip Somali healthcare providers with more information, personal protective equipment, and treatment resources such that they can safely and adequately care for COVID-19 patients and contain the spread of the virus. Social media and traditional news outlets may be effective outlets to communicate information regarding COVID-19 and the Somali government’s response to frontline healthcare workers.

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Youths’ Social Media Adoption: Theoretical Model and Empirical Evidence

International Journal of Business and Management ◽

10.5539/ijbm.v11n2p22 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 22 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. Shakaib Akram ◽

Wafi Albalawi

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Online Survey ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Perceived Ease Of Use ◽

The Social ◽

Perceived Enjoyment ◽

Adoption Intention

Social media has become a major source of communication and collaboration between individuals and among groups. The current paper investigates the underlying motives of social media adoption. The research identifies various determinants such as perceived connectedness, perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as the major influencers of social media adoption intention. Using the sample from Saudi Arabia an online survey is conducted. Structural equation modeling has been used to test the proposed relationships. The results reveal that individuals’ perceived connectedness and perceived enjoyment act as stimuli for their social media adoption intention. Moreover, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness mediate these stimuli and the individuals’ social media adoption intention. The paper concludes with the recommendations for the academicians and the social media designers/developers.

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Opinion of Healthcare Professionals in the Usage of Social Media for Patient Care in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia

International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) ◽

10.11591/.v6i1.6527 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 13

Author(s):

Syed Meraj Ahmed ◽

Faisal Alhumaidi Alruways ◽

Thamer Fahad Alsallum ◽

Meshal Munahi Almutairi ◽

Abdullah Saif Al-Subhi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Patient Care ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Improve Patient Care ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Validated Questionnaire ◽

Use Of Social Media

Use of social media for patient care is the new frontier in the healthcare indus-try. Sharing of information between the clinicians and their patients is now so much easier. In slowly gaining a foothold worldwide it needs a healthy push to make it universally accepta-ble. Study the knowledge, attitude, and practices of healthcare providers on the usage of social media in their clinical practice.A baseline cross – sectional study was conducted among 200 healthcare professionals from March 2015 to September 2015 on their knowledge, attitude, and practices in the use of social media for patient care in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia. A close ended self – administered validated questionnaire was used to gather data which was analyzed by using the SPSS ver. 21.0 software. 55.3% participants used social media for both professional and personal reasons. Some (25.3%) specified using it for patient care while a significant majority (52.9%) opined that it can be successfully used for patient interaction. Nearly 55% agreed that social media should not be banned due to its benefits as an efficient tool for patient communication. Social media use for pa-tient doctor interaction should be encouraged to improve patient care through effective com-munication.

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Lack of Awareness of the Impact of Improperly Disposed Of Medications and Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Indonesian Households

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2021.630434 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Sofa D. Alfian ◽

Widya N. Insani ◽

Eli Halimah ◽

Nabilla A. Qonita ◽

Siti S. Jannah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Providers ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Public Places ◽

Validated Questionnaire ◽

Unused Medications ◽

Medication Disposal ◽

The Impact

Introduction: Disposal of unused medications through environmentally unsafe routes is common in Indonesia. The lack of awareness of the impact of improperly disposed of medications is a significant contributing factor. The objectives of this study were to identify factors associated with lack of awareness of the impact of improperly disposed of unused medications and to assess the associations of awareness with medication disposal practices among the general population in Indonesia.Patients and methods: An observational cross-sectional survey was conducted using nonprobability sampling in Bandung, Indonesia, from November 2017 to January 2018 among respondents who were older than 18 years, had used any medication in the past, were literate, and had signed an informed consent document. Disposal practices and awareness regarding the impact of improperly disposed of unused medications were collected using an online- and a paper-based pre-validated questionnaire. The paper-based questionnaires were distributed to respondents in public places such as city center, markets, and religious places. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess associations of sociodemographic and other related factors with a lack of awareness. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported.Results: Of 497 participating respondents, 433 and 64 respondents filled an online- or a paper-based questionnaire, respectively. Most respondents were female, aged between 18 and 30 years, and students/university students. Of 497 respondents, more than half (53.1%) were not aware that improper medication disposal could harm the environment and population health. Most respondents (79.5%) had never received information about proper medication disposal practices. The education level, the number of stored medications at home, and previous education about medication disposal practices were significantly associated with awareness of proper practices. In the multivariate analysis, only those with previous education about medication disposal practices were less likely to report a lack of awareness (OR: 0.043; 95% CI: 0.02–0.09). Respondents with a lack of awareness tended to dispose of their unused medications in the garbage or shared them with friends or relatives.Conclusion: There is a clear need to increase awareness of the importance of proper medication disposal practices, in particular among the student population of Bandung city, Indonesia. Healthcare providers can play an important role by educating this specific population on the proper disposal of unused medications.

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A study of students’ attitudes towards using ICT in a social constructivist environment

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology ◽

10.14742/ajet.2890 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yang Silin ◽

David Kwok

Keyword(s):

Technology Acceptance ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Survey Study ◽

Learning Tools ◽

Perceived Ease Of Use ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Students Attitudes

This study aims to examine the factors that support or hinder students’ attitudes towards using information and communication technology (ICT) in problem-based learning (PBL) using the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) among polytechnic students. A total of 737 first-year polytechnic students in Singapore participated in the cross-sectional survey study by completing a questionnaire (The assessment of attitude and intention to use ICT tools among polytechnic students), which gathered both quantitative and qualitative data. Based on the analysis of the quantitative data, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are found to be significantly and positively correlated with attitudes towards using ICT. Results from the analysis of the qualitative data suggest five major themes (engagement, communication, information gathering, collaboration and efficiency) on what students enjoyed most about using ICT. On the other hand, Internet connectivity, usability, technical issues and ICT competency are the four other themes that categorised the difficulties students faced using ICT. An important implication is to develop polytechnic lecturers’ competency in the use of ICT-enabled learning tools as a priority to enable them to successfully integrate ICT in their PBL lessons.

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The Influence of the Firm’s Career-Website on Job-Seekers’ Intentions to the Firm

International Journal of Human Resource Studies ◽

10.5296/ijhrs.v5i3.8172 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 111

Author(s):

Robert W. Stone ◽

Lori Baker-Eveleth ◽

Daniel Eveleth

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Primary Method ◽

Job Seekers ◽

Related Factors ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Subsequent Behavior ◽

Significant Positive Influence

Currently organizations rely on its websites to engage and inform job-seekers, and as the primary method for job-seekers to submit applications for screening (Thompson, Braddy & Wuensch, 2008). Therefore a website must be able to influence job-seekers to react positively to perform behaviors such as submitting an application, returning to the site, recommending the company or site to others, and to engage the organization by transitioning to the organization’s social-media sites. Whether or not a job-seeker performs these behaviors is largely a function of the experience with the website. Understanding the website-related factors affecting a job-seeker’s intentions and subsequent behavior is, therefore, critical to the firm. The sample consisted of 199 usable responses and the results show website aesthetics, content and ease of use influence respondents’ intentions, indirectly, through perceived usefulness of the site. Social norms toward the firm have a significant, positive influence on respondents’ intentions.

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An Approach towards Investigating Factors Affecting Intention to Book a Hotel Room through Social Media

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12218973 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (21) ◽

pp. 8973

Author(s):

Anastasios-Ioannis Theocharidis ◽

Maria Argyropoulou ◽

George Karavasilis ◽

Vasiliki Vrana ◽

Evangelos Kehris

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Media Use ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

The European Union ◽

Perceived Ease Of Use ◽

Social Media Use ◽

Hotel Room

Today, social media have become a major trend, and consumers are engaging more and more in the social media platforms used by hotels. This does not mean that they book a hotel room via social media, as the booking process is a complex one. The paper investigates the factors that affect users’ intention to book a hotel room using social media applications. The recent enforcement of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in California may have an impact on consumers’ behavior. To investigate this further, the study integrates into a model the following constructs: Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, trust in online hoteliers, social media use, and permission-based-acceptance. The survey was conducted on Greek users of social media. An online questionnaire was used for data collection. The conceptual model was tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The study identified four factors that directly or indirectly influence consumers’ intention to book hotel rooms through social media. Usefulness directly affects intention to book online. Permission-based acceptance plays a core role in the model. Both constructs trust in online hoteliers and social media use, and have a direct positive effect on permission-based acceptance, whereas permission-based acceptance has a direct positive influence on intention to book through social media. The validated model stretches the need for hoteliers to obtain permission from consumers in carrying out their marketing activities. It is important for hotel owners, managers, and social media specialists to keep consumers in mind, offer them useful information and services, and have a trustworthy behavior in order to boost bookings through social media.

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