Open AccessExploring Public Attitudes toward E-Government Health Applications Used During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Saudi Arabia
Author(s) -
Dalal Bamufleh,
Amani Saud Alshamari,
Asrar Saud Alsobhi,
Hanan Hisham Ezzi,
Waad Sultan Alruhaili
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
computer and information science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1913-8997
pISSN - 1913-8989
DOI - 10.5539/cis.v14n3p1
Subject(s) - technology acceptance model , unified theory of acceptance and use of technology , structural equation modeling , government (linguistics) , pandemic , usability , social media , covid-19 , christian ministry , psychology , health belief model , social influence , public health , knowledge management , public relations , computer science , political science , social psychology , medicine , health education , nursing , world wide web , philosophy , law , linguistics , pathology , machine learning , disease , human–computer interaction , infectious disease (medical specialty)
This study sought to explore factors that determine the public’s acceptance of and adoption behavior toward e-government health applications launched in Saudi Arabia (SA) by the Ministry of Health (MOH) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research relied on several theories: the technology acceptance model (TAM), information system success model (ISSM), mobile services acceptance model (MSAM), and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The constructs of perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), attitude (ATT), trust (TR), information quality (IQ), facilitating condition (FC), and social influence (SI) were utilized to investigate the user’s intention toward using e-government health applications. The proposed model and its seven hypotheses were tested by conducting a survey across social media among citizens and residents in SA. A total of 785 valid responses were analyzed by SmartPLS and a structural equation modeling technique. After analysis, the results showed that PEOU, PU, ATT, TR, IQ, FC, and SI have positive effects on behavioral intentions. As for contributions, this paper is the first research paper to investigate the adoption of e-government health applications launched by MOH in SA during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide a theoretical framework for pursuing future research work in a similar scope.