Singapore's road to widespread mHealth implementation

Abstract

The range of government mHealth apps have steadily expanded since 2012, yet no evaluative study has been done to determine factors influencing their adoption. This study investigated mHealth app adoption amongst younger Singaporeans based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. An interview was conducted for sixteen participants aged 22-26. They were then assigned 10 minutes to use the HealthHub app. Participants consist of 8 males and 8 females who all but one, had experience using mHealth apps before the interview. Results showed that performance expectancy and effort expectancy had the strongest influence on behavioural intention and actual usage. However, the effects of social influence were limited while facilitating conditions had minimal influence on behavioural intention. Furthermore, other factors such as price value, hedonic motivation and privacy concerns are found to influence behavioural intentions as well. Hence, the results suggest that these factors should be taken into account when designing the HealthHub app and future mHealth apps targeting younger Singaporeans.