The Technology Acceptance of Video Consultations for Type 2 Diabetes Care in General Practice: Cross-sectional Survey of Danish General Practitioners.

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, video consultations became a common method of delivering care in general practice. To date, research has mostly studied acute or subacute care, thereby leaving a knowledge gap regarding the potential of using video consultations to manage chronic diseases.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine general practitioners' technology acceptance of video consultations for the purpose of managing type 2 diabetes in general practice.

METHODS

A web-based survey based on the technology acceptance model measuring 4 dimensions-perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, and behavioral intention to use-was sent to all general practices (N=1678) in Denmark to elicit user perspectives. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

The survey sample comprised 425 general practitioners who were representative of the population. Structural equation modeling showed that 4 of the 5 hypotheses in the final research model were statistically significant (P<.001). Perceived ease of use had a positive influence on perceived usefulness and attitude. Attitude was positively influenced by perceived usefulness. Attitude had a positive influence on behavioral intention to use, although perceived usefulness did not. Goodness-of-fit indices showed acceptable fits for the structural equation modeling estimation.

CONCLUSIONS

Perceived usefulness was the primary driver of general practitioners' positive attitude toward video consultations for type 2 diabetes care. The study suggests that to improve attitude and technology use, decision-makers should focus on improving usefulness, that is, how it can improve treatment and make it more effective and easier.