Factors Affecting Chinese Young Adults’ Acceptance of Connected Health

Abstract

The global health care industry faces several challenges, such as an aging population, insufficient medical resources, and uneven allocation of high-quality medical resources. These challenges impede the development of a sustainable medical care system. Connected health aims to relieve these challenges by deploying information technology in healthcare. However, there is a lack of research on adoption of connected health and as a result, its acceptance rate is still low. This study summarized 25 potential factors that may affect its acceptance, and ranked their importance by performing a best–worst scaling experiment. Fifteen important factors were distinguished, which included nine technological factors, five individual factors, and one environmental factor. To explore how these factors affect individuals’ acceptance of connected health, this study conducted a qualitative study based on grounded theory. We coded the contents collected in a semi-structural interview by applying open coding, axial coding, and selective coding techniques. Finally, nine core categories were distinguished, and a conceptual model was proposed to explain how these core categories affect individuals’ acceptance of connected health. This study deepens our understanding of factors affecting the acceptance of connected health and helps build a sustainable medical care system.