Acceptance and use of health information technology in Slovenian public health institutions: a national survey based on UTAUT model

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess the use and acceptance of information technology (IT) in Slovenian public healthcare institutions. To our knowledge, this is the first national survey to estimate the willingness of employees to welcome new technology into their work routine. Methods: The survey was based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) methodology, according to which we designed a questionnaire. It consisted of 37 closed-ended questions and participants were asked to choose the single best answer to each. Out of one hundred public healthcare institutions across the country, 52 replied. We received 1,575 validly completed questionnaires. The results were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Statistically significant value of p was set at < 0.05. Results: The data revealed a high degree of acceptance and use of IT among healthcare professionals. Health IT use showed the highest degree of coincidence with previous IT experience (p< 0.001). Respondents graded highly the usefulness of IT (4.50 of 5) and their own IT skills (4.28). They were slightly less content with the performance of their workplace IT and the availability of technical help in case of difficulty (both 3.57). Conclusions: The results show a positive attitude toward IT among Slovenian healthcare professionals. These findings are especially relevant in view of the fact that all types of healthcare professionals from all kinds of public healthcare institutions across the country were included in the survey.

Keywords

• Slovenia
• theoretical models
• attitude to computers
• motivation
• behavior