Health professionals' acceptance of mobile-based clinical guideline application in a resource-limited setting: using a modified UTAUT model

Introduction Clinical guidelines are crucial for assisting health professionals to make correct clinical decisions. However, manual clinical guidelines are not accessible, and this increases the workload. So, a mobile-based clinical guideline application is needed to provide real-time information access. Hence, this study aimed to assess health professionals' intention to accept mobile-based clinical guideline applications and verify the unified theory of acceptance and technology utilization model. MethodsInstitutional-based cross-sectional study design was used among 803 study participants. The sample size was determined based on structural equation model parameter estimation criteria with stratified random sampling. Amos version 23 software was used for analysis. Internal consistency of latent variable items, and convergent and divergent validity, were evaluated using composite reliability, AVE, and a cross-loading matrix. Model fitness of the data was assessed based on a set of criteria, and it was achieved. P-value < 0.05 was considered for assessing the formulated hypothesis. Results Effort expectancy and social influence had a significant effect on health professionals' attitudes, with path coefficients of (beta = 0.61, P-value < 0.01), and (beta = 0.510, P-value < 0.01) respectively. Performance expectancy, facilitating condition, and attitude had significant effects on health professionals' acceptance of mobile-based clinical guideline applications with path coefficients of (beta = 0.37, P-value < 0.001), (beta = 0.44, P-value < 0.001) and (beta = 0.57, P-value < 0.05) respectively. Effort expectancy and social influence were mediated by attitude and had a significant partial relationship with health professionals' acceptance of mobile-based clinical guideline application with standardized estimation coefficients of (beta = 0.22, P-value = 0.027), and (beta = 0.19, P-value = 0.031) respectively. All the latent variables accounted for 57% of health professionals' attitudes, and latent variables with attitudes accounted for 63% of individuals' acceptance of mobile-based clinical guideline applications. Conclusions The unified theory of acceptance and use of the technology model was a good model for assessing individuals' acceptance of mobile-based clinical guidelines applications. So, enhancing health professionals' attitudes, and computer literacy through training are needed. Mobile application development based on user requirements is critical for technology adoption, and people's support is also important for health professionals to accept and use the application.