Factors Affecting the Readiness of Medical Doctors and Patients with Chronic Conditions toward the Usage of Smartphones in the Saudi Arabian Healthcare Sector

Abstract

Numerous studies have reported the rapid increase in the number of individuals who use smartphones. However, smartphones appear to be increasingly used by healthcare workers, particularly physicians and nurses. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the readiness of medical doctors and patients with chronic conditions in using and adopting smartphones for communication. This study employs the Technology Acceptance Model to examine the behavior of people in using smartphones from the perspectives of trust and rural areas. To realize our objective, we conducted a questionnaire survey that involved medical doctors and patients with chronic conditions. Our particular focus was Al Qunfudhah City in Saudi Arabia. More than 200 questionnaires were distributed to people belonging to different healthcare sectors in the rural areas of Al Qunfudhah City. Our aim was to include every possible scenario and to obtain excellent perspectives. The results that we eventually analyzed indicated that trust factor and rural areas significantly influence the readiness of people belonging to the healthcare sector toward using smartphones. The results of our study concur with the findings of other studies. Our results indicate that smartphones and other high-technology gadgets are now necessary and accepted devices in the different healthcare fields. However, further studies should explore the challenges and effects of smartphone use in the healthcare sector.