| The purpose of this descriptive web-based study was to explain and predict health consumers' acceptance and usage behavior of Internet health information and services. Toward this goal, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with additional constructs of perceived playfulness, compatibility , and Web site loyalty, labeled the Information and Communication Technology Acceptance Model (ICTAM), was developed and tested.; A descriptive survey design employing a Web-based questionnaire was used. Individuals who received a flyer through the LISTSERV of HealthGuide, a website that provides people with health information and services, were eligible to participate. The study population was eighteen years old and older who had used Internet health information and services for a minimum of 6 months. SPSS (version 13.0) was used for descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Using AMOS (version 5.0), confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation modeling were employed.; More than half of the respondents were women (n = 110, 55%). The average age of the respondents was 35.16 years (S.D. = 10.07). A majority reported at least some college education (n = 126, 63%). All of the observed factors included in ICTAM accounted for 75.53% of the total variance explained. The results indicated that ICTAM produced measurement and structural models with adequate fits. High construct validities were observed.; The fit indices of the structural model for the full sample were within an acceptable range: chi2/df = 2.38 (chi 2 = 1786.31, df = 752); GFI = .71; RMSEA = .08; CFI = .86; NFI = .78. The constructs added---perceived playfulness, compatibility, and Web site loyalty---explained a significant amount of variance in ICTAM. Overall, ICTAM increased the explanatory and predictive power of TAM and TAM2, accounting for 52--66.1% of the variance in perceived usefulness and 47.6∼74% in behavioral intention to use. Gender differences were also noted in ICTAM. In the SEM model, unlike the results from the data of men, social influences significantly influenced perceived usefulness (beta = .256, C.R. = 2.960, p = .003).; The results of this study provide empirical support for the continued development of TAM as a model to guide and inform research and practice in the area of health consumers' information and communication technology acceptance. |
