A modified UTAUT2 for the study of telemedicine adoption

The successful operation of Telemedicine significantly depends on whether or not healthcare professionals are ready to accept and use the system. Relying on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model, this research examines the use behavior of healthcare professionals towards telemedicine with information quality as moderator. A total of 352 health workers (including nurses, pharmacist, laboratory technicians, accountants, and administrators of health institutions) were conveniently sampled for the study. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used to test the hypothesized paths in the framework. The results indicate that Performance Expectancy, Habit, and Hedonic Motivation have an influence on healthcare professional's behavioral intention to adopt and use telemedicine systems. This implies that users will accept and use the system if they perceive that the system will positively affect their performance. The study validates the use of UTAUT in the context of telemedicine. It also informs stakeholders in the health sector to take into consideration compatibility and system quality issues in the development of new systems. This paper provides researchers with a contemporary perspective towards understanding the adoption and use of Telemedicine especially, in the Sub-Saharan Africa context.