Sähköiset terveyspalvelut osaksi potilaan arkea

Abstract

Studies recently showed that interest in electronic healthcare services has increased, and there is a need to guide and inform patients and their families about the formats of such services. The purposes of this study were to determine what factors cause patients to accept electronic healthcare services and to determine what factors affect patients’ to use of such services by examining patients’ opinions of the services’ usefulness and ease of use. Sample data (n=113/150, 75%) was collected from the patients of six outpatient clinics at one university hospital for two weeks in April 2017. The patients and their escorts each completed a questionnaire that consisted of background variables (n=5) and questions (n=29). Statistical methods were used to describe and test the patients’ intentions to use electronic healthcare services. It was found that the participants were motivated to monitor their wellness with electronic healthcare services based on their experiences with such services, and the patients were confident about the effectiveness of such services. In fact, half the participants accessed electronic health assessment tools on the Internet and many participants were familiar with Kanta Services. As users’ experience with electronic services increased, perceptions of the services as useful increased. In particular, young participants (under 26 years) were dominant in the use of information technology (IT), and assessed their skills in using the services as good. In contrast, elderly participants (63 years and older) lacked confidence in their IT skills. Based on these results, it was concluded that participants’ perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of electronic healthcare services are significant predictors of the participants’ attitudes and intentions to use such services.