Individuals' adoption of smart technologies for preventive health care: a structural equation modeling approach

Healthcare is moving towards new patterns and models, with an increasing attention paid to prevention. Smart technologies for mobile health care are emerging as new instruments to monitor the state of essential parameters in citizens. A very debated subject in literature is the critical role played by citizens' acceptance and willingness to pay for mobile health technologies, especially whereas the services provided are preventive rather than curative. The adoption of such technologies is, indeed, a necessary condition for the success of mobile personalized health care. In this view, a conceptual framework, grounded on Technology Acceptance Model, is developed to explore the determinants of users' willingness to adopt and pay for a mobile health care application for cardiovascular prevention. Empirical data are collected from a sample of 212 non-hypertensive Italian individuals and analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling. Results confirm that usefulness and ease of use determine both intention to accept and willingness to pay for mobile health smart technologies. Results show also the significant role played by social influence as well the role as antecedents played by technology promptness, innovativeness and prevention awareness. This study offers novel insights to design and promote smart application to improve mobile health care, with implications for researchers and practitioners in health care, research & development, and marketing.