Intentions to participate in virtual health communities : an empirical study of South African health consumers

Abstract

Much of the literature surrounding virtual health communities highlights the factors critical to their success such as availability to medical resources, efficiency of being able to access medical practitioners and the ability to access a supporting network of patients with similar medical conditions. There is however little research which establishes whether South African health consumers are ready for a virtual health community and whether health consumers will be encouraged to participate in these virtual communities to achieve greater levels of self managed health. This study addresses that question. The research was grounded in literature from the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Technology Readiness (TR) and Trust. A research model was developed, which hypothesized the effects of perceived benefits, perceived severity, cues to action, self-efficacy, confidence, trust and technology readiness attributes on health consumers’ intentions to participate in a virtual health community. To test the research model, the study adopted a quantitative research design and collected data using an online structured questionnaire. The sampling frame for this study was a convenience sample of health consumers in South Africa. Ninety-nine useable responses were received. Results from multiple regression analysis showed that perceived benefits, cues to action, self efficacy and trust were good predictors of the attitude towards virtual health communities as well as intentions to participate in such communities. An important part of the study was exploring differences between health consumers with chronic conditions and those without. The study is important for medical professionals, government and pharmaceutical companies, as it provides valuable information on the extent to which South African health consumers are ready for a virtual medical community. It also identifies the factors influencing user’s intentions towards the use of the virtual health community and provides significant empirical evidence for the HBM and TR literatures.