A Patient Technology Acceptance Model (PTAM) for Adoption of Telehealth (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Population aging is a global phenomenon, with the proportion of the population over the age of 60 increasingly rapidly. It is essential to gain understanding of the factors that influence acceptance of these technologies when they are introduced as part of the monitoring and management of clinical conditions. OBJECTIVE This study undertakes semi-structured interviews of elderly patients being monitored for COPD, CHF or diabetes to determine the factors they deemed most important for acceptance of the technology. METHODS 18 women and 12 men with age range 65-90 and mean 77 years were interviewed. RESULTS Nine main themes emerged; attitude to aging and illness, coping strategy, relationship and support, patient-doctor interaction, incorporating patients, self-efficacy, personality, personal meaning, and knowledge. The themes were grouped to three constructs; age/illness, patient, and healthcare practitioner, that were considered as the basis of a framework for a patient technology acceptance model (PTAM). CONCLUSIONS An extended model of TAM emerges that describes the behaviour of elderly patients towards adoption of technology to monitor their health.