Healthcare information technology (Health IT) is the use of computer applications to record, store, protect, retrieve, and transfer clinical, administrative, and financial information electronically within and among various health care settings. ( www.hrsa.org ). Adoption of Health IT for the purposes of this research is defined as the process from being aware of the technology to the effective and efficient usage for the intended purpose.
Published in Chapter:
Social Forces that Influence Health IT Use Behavior of the Elderly
Karoly Bozan (Idaho State University, USA), Bill Davey (RMIT University, Australia), and Kevin R. Parker (Idaho State University, USA)
Copyright: © 2017
|Pages: 15
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0920-2.ch021
Abstract
The social forces that influence patient portal use behavior among the elderly are not well understood. Using both institutional theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, the proposed model examines three social environmental factors ? normative, mimetic, and coercive forces ? within a Health Information Technology (HIT) context. An empirical study involving 117 subjects in the United States was used to test the proposed model. Using the partial least squares method, mimetic and coercive pressures were found to significantly influence patient portal use behavior. These findings indicate that older people follow not only their providers' advice, but also follow the behavior of respected, higher-status peers from their network. Normative pressure was not found to be significant, implying that older people do not follow the bandwagon effect.