Chinese physicians’ perceptions and willingness to use telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic
Xuelian Hai,
Jia Zhang,
Yumeng Zhang () and
Jay Pan ()
Additional contact information
Xuelian Hai: Sichuan University
Jia Zhang: Sichuan University
Yumeng Zhang: Sichuan University
Jay Pan: Sichuan University
Palgrave Communications, 2024, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-10
Abstract:
Abstract The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic catalysed the rapid uptake of telemedicine as a vital tool for physicians to provide healthcare services to patients. However, despite the potential advantages of telemedicine, there remains a paucity of research examining physicians’ attitudes and utilisation patterns towards this mode of healthcare delivery. Therefore, this study investigated the factors impacting physicians’ telemedicine utilisation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and protection motivation theory, a cross-sectional survey was conducted between June 3rd and October 26th, 2022. A structural equation model was subsequently developed to validate the response-based research model. Of the 296 physicians surveyed, 134 reported an increase in the frequency of telemedicine use following the COVID-19 pandemic, and 88.9% of respondents supported the implementation of telemedicine services at their hospitals. The analysis revealed that perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, performance expectations, effort expectations, and facilitating conditions were significant factors influencing physicians’ willingness to adopt telemedicine. Importantly, the results suggest that strategies to enhance the usefulness and convenience of telemedicine systems are imperative for fostering adoption. Such efforts will be instrumental in expediting the promotion and implementation of internet-based healthcare services to enhance the accessibility of healthcare services in China.
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-024-03816-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-03816-6
Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/palcomms/about
DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-03816-6
Access Statistics for this article
More articles in Palgrave Communications from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().