Motivational factors, policy and regulation with respect to adoption of e-health technologies for elderly persons
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Date
2019
Authors
Mthimunye, Evah
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Abstract
This research report investigates motivational factors, policy and regulation with
respect to the adoption of e-health technologies by elderly persons in the context of
rural South Africa. Digitisation in health, including digital devices such as fitness
trackers which monitor daily activities and health patterns are being advocated by
insurance companies as a solution to promote healthy living. Older people can monitor
and improve their health using fitness tracking devices. There are extensive research
studies on motivational factors to adopt e-health technologies, however literature
reveals that there are few studies that have investigated the extent and motivational
factors contributing to the adoption of health technology by older people explicitly
focusing on rural area in developing countries. Also, in the context of the information
and communication technologies (ICT) industry, there is limited research that
addresses issues of motivational factors, benefits and challenges.
As a data collection approach, the study employs review of policy documents, in-depth
individual interviews and a single focus group, conducted at the case study institution,
Wisane retirement home in Hammanskraal in Northern Gauteng. The retirement
home’s vision and mission are to provide older people with a secure and affordable
retirement environment. A qualitative analysis approach was adopted where inductive
reasoning was used to compare emerging themes.
The promised benefit to improve quality of life, in particular, emerged as the primary
motivator to adopt these technologies. The poor quality of public health service is a
secondary factor contributing to the perceived need to adopt these technologies. Poor
ICT infrastructure in rural health care institutions emerged as an inhibitor to diffusion
of e-health technologies. Issues of security and privacy, social and economic factors
such as affordability, and digital skills knowledge were also highlighted. The study
proposes future research to investigate practice-oriented models relevant to the
greater adoption of e-health technologies.
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2019
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Citation
Mthimunye, Evah Mmatsatsi. (2019). Motivational factors, policy and regulation with respect to adoption of e-health technologies for elderly persons. University of the Witwatersrand, https://hdl.handle.net/10539/29457