Factors in the 4-week Acceptance of a Computer-Based, Chronic Disease Self-Monitoring System in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and/or Hypertension

Background: Health information technology (HIT) interventions developed to support patients' self-care for chronic diseases have become popular, but people may not always accept and sustain their use. Introduction: This study examined factors that affected patients' acceptance of a computer-based, chronic disease self-monitoring system over a 4-week period. Materials and Methods: A research model was developed to test the relationships between the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, and subjective norm and the patients' behavioral intention to use the system (i.e., acceptance). Data were collected with surveys of 42 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension at baseline, 2 weeks after implementation, and 4 weeks after implementation. Path analysis was used for model testing. Results: Perceived usefulness affected behavioral intention indirectly at 2 weeks and directly at 4 weeks; perceived ease of use affected behavioral intention indirectly at 2 and 4 weeks; attitude directly affected behavioral intention at 2 weeks; and subjective norm affected behavioral intention indirectly at 2 weeks and directly at baseline and at 4 weeks. Conclusions: Patients' acceptance of HIT is affected by the factors proposed in our research model. It is suggested that healthcare stakeholders consider and address the effects of these factors and their variations over time before implementing HIT.