Open AccessMeasuring Success of Patients’ Continuous Use of Mobile Health Services for Self-management of Chronic Conditions: Model Development and Validation
Author(s) -
Ting Song,
Ning Deng,
Tingru Cui,
Siyu Qian,
Fang Liu,
Yingping Guan,
Ping Yu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jmir. journal of medical internet research/journal of medical internet research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.446
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1439-4456
pISSN - 1438-8871
DOI - 10.2196/26670
Subject(s) - continuance , likert scale , variance (accounting) , usability , scale (ratio) , quality (philosophy) , applied psychology , psychology , information system , patient satisfaction , test (biology) , service quality , information quality , medicine , service (business) , computer science , nursing , social psychology , engineering , marketing , business , developmental psychology , philosophy , accounting , epistemology , quantum mechanics , physics , human–computer interaction , biology , paleontology , electrical engineering
Background Mobile health services are gradually being introduced to support patients’ self-management of chronic conditions. The success of these services is contingent upon patients’ continuous use of them. Objective This study aims to develop a model to measure the success of patients’ continuous use of mobile health services for the self-management of chronic conditions. Methods The proposed model was derived from the information systems continuance model and the information systems success model. This model contains 7 theoretical constructs: information quality, system quality, service quality, perceived usefulness, user satisfaction, perceived health status, and continuous use intention. A web-based questionnaire survey instrument was developed to test the model. The survey was conducted to collect data from 129 patients who used a mobile health app for hypertension management from 2017 to 2019. The questionnaire items were derived from validated instruments and were measured using a 5-point Likert scale. The partial least squares modelling method was used to test the theoretical model. Results The model accounted for 58.5% of the variance in perceived usefulness (R 2 =0.585), 52.3% of the variance in user satisfaction (R 2 =0.523), and 41.4% of the variance in patients’ intention to make continuous use of mobile health services (R 2 =0.414). The continuous use intention was significantly influenced by their perceived health status (β=.195, P =.03), perceived usefulness (β=.307, P =.004), and user satisfaction (β=.254, P =.04) with the mobile health service. Information quality (β=.235, P =.005), system quality (β=.192, P =.02), and service quality (β=.494, P <.001) had a significantly positive influence on perceived usefulness but not on user satisfaction. Perceived usefulness had a significantly positive influence on user satisfaction (β=.664, P <.001). In a result opposite to the original hypothesis, perceived health status did not negatively influence patients’ intention to continue using the mobile health service but showed a significantly positive correlation. Conclusions This study developed a theoretical model to predict and explain patients’ continuous use of mobile health services for self-management of chronic conditions and empirically tested the model. Perceived usefulness, user satisfaction, and health status contributed to patients’ intention to make continuous use of mobile health services for self-managing their chronic conditions.