Consumer perspective on using digital platform for remote dental screening.

Abstract

Aim or Purpose: The use of mHealth technologies in dentistry is relatively new. This study used a modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to evaluate primary caregivers’ experience using a smartphone application designed for remote dental screening based on photographs taken by primary caregivers of preschool children in Australia. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire with 17 questions was constructed based on the theme of the TAM, including Perceived ease of use (PE), Perceived usefulness (PU), Behavioural intention to adopt (BI), Anxiety (ANX), Attitude toward a behaviour (ATB) and Self-Efficacy (SE). Forty-two primary caregivers who were users of a tele-dental screening app completed the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was estimated to determine internal consistency. Path analysis was employed to quantify the relationship between each theme. Results: Results indicated high consistency in response in the different domains of the questionnaire (a= 0.50-0.84). Statistically significant associations were observed between both perceived usefulness and attitude toward behaviour and the overall behavioural intention to adopt the Tele-dental screening app (P<0.05). Self-Efficacy also positively affected the perceived usefulness. Conclusions: Understanding users' experience of technology will show community readiness for implementing the telehealth application in the dental program and developing and increasing the accessibility of tele-dental care for primary caregivers and their children.