Managerial practices for app-based primary care telemedicine service acceptance in South Africa

• Published in: South African journal of business management Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. e1 - e10
• Main Authors: van Tonder, Grethe, du Preez, Ronel, Pentz, Christian D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS 30.09.2024; AOSIS
• Subjects: app-based primary care; care perception; health care; Health care industry; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; privacy perception; Public health; south african public health care sector; Telemedicine; South Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa
• ISSN: 2078-5585; 2078-5976
• DOI: 10.4102/sajbm.v55i1.4667

Purpose: This study addresses the qualitative research phase of a mixed methods study conducted to investigate patient acceptance of an app-based telemedicine service for primary care aimed at South African public health care sector patients.Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative data were collected by means of semi-structured individual interviews with patients who had exposure to an existing app-based primary care telemedicine service in South Africa named Kena Health. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data using ATLAS.ti software was conducted to identify the relevant antecedents of telemedicine service acceptance in the study’s context.Findings/results: Eight antecedents of app-based primary care telemedicine service acceptance among South African patients (who are predominantly reliant on public health care sector services to receive medical care) were identified, namely, perceived compatibility, perceived ease of use, relative advantage, price value, trust, innovativeness, privacy perception and care perception.Practical implications: To date, prior literature has not yet identified the specific antecedents that would apply to the acceptance of an app-based telemedicine service for primary care among South African individuals who are predominantly reliant on the country’s public health care system to receive medical care.Originality/value: Our study contributes to the literature by identifying which existing factors of technology acceptance apply to primary care telemedicine service acceptance, predominantly in the South African public health care sector context. Furthermore, additional antecedents of telemedicine service acceptance that have not been included in technology acceptance theory until present, that is, (positive) privacy perception and care perception are identified.