Factors influencing elderly people’s intentions to use smartphone mHealth apps: Quantitative research
5 affiliations
- 1School of Design Art, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, China.
- 2Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
- 3Fujian Hypertension Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
- 4Department of Geriatrics, National Regional Medical Center, Binhai Campus of the First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
- 5Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Hypertension Disease of Fujian Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Abstract
Smartphone mHealth apps (mHealth apps) have played a highly positive role in medical services, which provides a new direction for users’ medical services and health management. Although smartphone mHealth apps provide many benefits for users, people know little about the factors that drive elderly users to adopt this new service platform in the context of an aging population. This study aims to learn the factors that affect elderly people’s intentions to adopt smartphone mHealth apps, and use the technology acceptance model as a theoretical basis to integrate perceived convenience, perceived quality, perceived risk and perceived trust, in an attempt to construct a research model on the intentions to use smartphone mHealth apps. The elderly users’ data were collected by questionnaire survey and analyzed quantitatively by structural equation model. By analyzing the 263 valid data collected, the results showed that users’ perceived trust (β = 0.427, p < .001), attitude (β = 0.285, p < .001), and perceived quality (β = 0.278, p < .001) of mobile medical applications positively influenced users’ intention to use the applications, while perceived risk (β = −0.173, p < .001) had a negative impact on the intention to use. Perceived trust was also directly positively influenced by perceived quality (β = 0.434, p < .001) and perceived ease of use, and perceived convenience positively influenced perceived usefulness (β = 0.358, p < .001) and attitude (β = 0.299, p < .001). These findings can help us better understand the factors that influence the adoption of smartphone mHealth apps. This study further extends the technology acceptance model and its application domains to help mHealth researchers, designers, marketers, and service providers improve mHealth services and help increase users’ intentions to adopt mHealth apps.
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BibTeX
@article{huang2026factors,
title = {{Factors influencing elderly people’s intentions to use smartphone mHealth apps: Quantitative research}},
author = {Tianyang Huang and Wenqin Cai},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0361137},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361137},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Factors influencing elderly people’s intentions to use smartphone mHealth apps: Quantitative research
AU - Tianyang Huang
AU - Wenqin Cai
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0361137
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361137
AB - Smartphone mHealth apps (mHealth apps) have played a highly positive role in medical services, which provides a new direction for users’ medical services and health management. Although smartphone mHealth apps provide many benefits for users, people know little about the factors that drive elderly users to adopt this new service platform in the context of an aging population. This study aims to learn the factors that affect elderly people’s intentions to adopt smartphone mHealth apps, and use the technology acceptance model as a theoretical basis to integrate perceived convenience, perceived quality, perceived risk and perceived trust, in an attempt to construct a research model on the intentions to use smartphone mHealth apps. The elderly users’ data were collected by questionnaire survey and analyzed quantitatively by structural equation model. By analyzing the 263 valid data collected, the results showed that users’ perceived trust (β = 0.427, p < .001), attitude (β = 0.285, p < .001), and perceived quality (β = 0.278, p < .001) of mobile medical applications positively influenced users’ intention to use the applications, while perceived risk (β = −0.173, p < .001) had a negative impact on the intention to use. Perceived trust was also directly positively influenced by perceived quality (β = 0.434, p < .001) and perceived ease of use, and perceived convenience positively influenced perceived usefulness (β = 0.358, p < .001) and attitude (β = 0.299, p < .001). These findings can help us better understand the factors that influence the adoption of smartphone mHealth apps. This study further extends the technology acceptance model and its application domains to help mHealth researchers, designers, marketers, and service providers improve mHealth services and help increase users’ intentions to adopt mHealth apps.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -