Exploring mHealth monitoring service acceptance from a service characteristics perspective

Undoubtedly, the mobile health (mHealth) service has rapidly gained ever-increasing research attention. However, few studies have focused on the impacts of service characteristics on mHealth interactions regarding use intentions and behaviour. To narrow this research gap, our study has developed a theoretical model to investigate the impacts of the factors related to service characteristics and the moderation effects of service relevance. The proposed research model and hypotheses were empirically tested through a survey. The results indicate the following key findings: (1) mHealth service matching and mHealth service competence positively and indirectly influence use intention through the cognitive and affective attitudes; (2) mHealth service relevance could moderate the relationship between attitude components and use intention; and (3) the moderating effects of mHealth service relevance on the cognitive attitude are regarded as positive, but are perceived as being negative for the affective attitude. Theoretical and practical implications are also included.