Year: 2018
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The rising use of messaging applications such as WhatsApp for both social and personal purposes, has determined an increasing widespread of the use of these technologies even in healthcare contexts.Previous research has mainly focused on individual variables which determine the use of WhatsApp rather than on the relationship between individual and organizational variables.This study is based on a theoretical framework that combines institutional and individual factors to explain the adoption of WhatsApp as a communication channel with peers (other healthcare professionals) or with patients.Data have been collected through a survey administered to physicians and nurses in an Italian University Hospital in Rome.A total of 191 high-quality responses had been received.Results show that WhatsApp is widely used in Hospital setting by nurses and physicians, and that an interplay exists between institutional and individual factors in determining the use of this technology.In particular, individual factors play a key role as determinant of the use of WhatsApp; in fact, perceived usefulness is directly related to the use of WhatsApp with patients and colleagues (p=0,022).Instead, institutional factors play a secondary role; they do not have a direct influence on the use of WhatsApp, but they always act through individual factors.The study provides hospital managers with information on factors that promote / inhibit the adoption of "back door" innovations such as WhatsApp, these can help them manage these phenomena by implementing appropriate strategies to limit potential risks and misbehavior.
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3163635748