TAM-Telecare: Die Entwicklung eines Technologieakzeptanzmodells für interaktive telepflegerische Anwendungen: Ein Mixed-Methods-Design

Background: In recent years, there has been a growing trend toward the use of digital technologies across all sectors, including the Austrian care sector. Great expectations are associated with these technologies, which aim to improve the quality of care, enhance working conditions for care staff, and reduce overall care expenditures. To fulfil the demands of this digital transformation individuals need to embrace emerging technologies. Acceptance research aims to identify the predictors of the individual intention to use of technologies, facilitating organisational settings. Objective: The aim of the current dissertation includes the development and validation of a technology acceptance model (TAM-Telecare) especially for interactive telecare technologies designed for the care sector. Methods: The model is conceptualised using a mixed-methods design in a sequential approach. First, a systematic literature review on the current state of acceptance research in the care sector is presented. Subsequently, the latent dimensions of acceptance for a digital smart speaker system are outlined through a qualitative preliminary study. In this qualitative preliminary study, expert interviews were conducted with care staff members and analysed using thematic analysis according to Lueger (2009). The combined results of the systematic literature review and the qualitative preliminary study form the bedrock for the specification of the structural and measurement models of TAM-Telecare, which are further analysed in the subsequent quantitative main study. For this purpose, 210 care workers from Austria were surveyed using an online questionnaire regarding their professional intention to use instant-messaging-apps. The proposed TAM-Telecare was analysed using variance-based structural equation modelling for two groups of care staff: those who used IMA professionally and those who used IMA exclusively in a private context. Results: The predictor "perceived usefulness for care staff" showed a significantly positive association with the behavioural intention to use IMA in both groups (βberuflich=0,419, CI [95%: 0,255, 0.576]; βprivat=0,502, CI [95%: 0,267, 0,655]). The predictors "expected benefit for clients" (βberuflich=0,161, CI [95%: 0,088, 0,253]; βprivat=0,360, CI [95%: 0,215, 0,489]) and "perceived ease of use" (βberuflich=0,107, CI [95%: 0,050, 0,186]; βprivat=0,072, CI [95%: 0,001, 0,143]), mediated by "perceived usefulness for care staff", showed a significantly positive indirect effect on professional usage intention in both groups. The predictor "perceived technological presence" (βprivat=0,348, CI [95%: 0,162, 0,525]) had a significantly positive effect on professional usage intention in the group of private users. In contrast, the predictor "perceived data security and privacy" (βprofessional=0.434, CI [95%: 0.228, 0.590]) showed a significantly positive relationship with the behavioural intention to use IMA in the group of professional users. Relevance: Understanding care workers’ technology acceptance can support the implementation of user-centered, technology-supported care. The TAM-Telecare aims to support the future implementation of digital tools and applications by enabling the early identification of acceptance barriers. This allows managers in care organisations to either proactively support implementation efforts or to make an informed decision not to proceed.