A Small but Significant Difference - The Role of Gender on Acceptance of Medical Assistive Technologies

The current research aimed to study user diversity with a focus on gender differences in adoption of medical assistive technologies in general, and in particular. In order to understand the gender impact, we conducted two consecutive studies and considered gender as a key moderator of acceptance aspects in the medical context. The first study focused on general aspects of medical technology acceptability: users’ willingness to use it, the importance of privacy and trust as well as the general attitude across gender and specified age groups. For a deeper insight into this topic the second study was conducted in order to analyze gendered acceptance on specific health-related device. As results showed people’s general attitude towards medical technology and their willingness to use such medical assisting devices is throughout positive. However, gender differences emerge at the time when it comes to an assessment of a concrete medical tool (here smart textiles).