Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Physicians' Acceptance of Mobile Health Services

Introduction: The combination of mobile technology and medical expertise introduces a new feature called mobile health care, which provides new opportunities for improving patients' health. Physician's acceptance of mobile health services is an important factor in the establishment and adaption of such services. The present study investigated the factors affecting the acceptance of health services by physicians. Method: In this descriptive-analytic study, 150 physicians working in Shiraz and Kazeroun were included using cluster sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires adapted from other studies. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were confirmed. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by Amos version 21 and SPSS version 23 software. Results: The effect of technology anxiety, adaption and resistance against change on perceived usefulness was significant. In addition, the effect of self-usefulness, adaptability, social norms, and resistance against change on perceived usefulness was significant. Moreover, parameters affected the intention to use via mediating variables of usefulness and perceived usefulness. The final research model had good fit indices. Conclusion: According to the results, policymakers are recommended to take into account the five factors mentioned in this study, which are related to the acceptance of systems investigated here, for promoting an appropriate culture for the adaption of mobile health services by physicians.