Telehealth and Telecare: A Scotland Case Study of Adults with Chronic Pain

Home-based health technology is often portrayed as a cost-effective solution to projected increases in care demand and expenditure. Yet, it also risks isolating its users or becoming redundant if rejected.

Objective: Utilising economics, this paper evaluates possible determinants affecting users’ acceptance of such technology. The aim is predominantly to debunk perceptions that old age equates to an inability to understand, use or accept technology; instead stressing the effect of users’ health.

Methods: Using data collected from Scottish chronically ill adults, discrete choice regression analysis is applied to assess the effect of demographic factors (age, health, education, and support networks), healthcare use and technology experience on acceptance.

Results: Respondents’ willingness to use telehomecare increases with age, but decreases with improved health and the number of relatives living nearby. Meanwhile, the likelihood of respondents accepting that their care providers use communication technologies increases with education and healthcare use, but decreases with improved health and relatives living nearby. However, the degree of acceptance is more dependent upon technology experience, than age or health.

Conclusion: Overall, respondents appear more hesitant when accepting others’ use of technology, possibly due to risk aversion. Thus, prospective users should be more involved in the design and implementation of health technologies to mitigate potential technology anxiety or misperceptions regarding their usefulness or ease of use.