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. 2020 Feb 20;8(2):e15935.
doi: 10.2196/15935.

Social, Organizational, and Technological Factors Impacting Clinicians' Adoption of Mobile Health Tools: Systematic Literature Review

Christine Jacob  1   2 , Antonio Sanchez-Vazquez  3 , Chris Ivory  3
Affiliations

Social, Organizational, and Technological Factors Impacting Clinicians' Adoption of Mobile Health Tools: Systematic Literature Review

Christine Jacob et al. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: There is a growing body of evidence highlighting the potential of mobile health (mHealth) in reducing health care costs, enhancing access, and improving the quality of patient care. However, user acceptance and adoption are key prerequisites to harness this potential; hence, a deeper understanding of the factors impacting this adoption is crucial for its success.

Objective: The aim of this review was to systematically explore relevant published literature to synthesize the current understanding of the factors impacting clinicians' adoption of mHealth tools, not only from a technological perspective but also from social and organizational perspectives.

Methods: A structured search was carried out of MEDLINE, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the SAGE database for studies published between January 2008 and July 2018 in the English language, yielding 4993 results, of which 171 met the inclusion criteria. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines and the Cochrane handbook were followed to ensure a systematic process.

Results: The technological factors impacting clinicians' adoption of mHealth tools were categorized into eight key themes: usefulness, ease of use, design, compatibility, technical issues, content, personalization, and convenience, which were in turn divided into 14 subthemes altogether. Social and organizational factors were much more prevalent and were categorized into eight key themes: workflow related, patient related, policy and regulations, culture or attitude or social influence, monetary factors, evidence base, awareness, and user engagement. These were divided into 41 subthemes, highlighting the importance of considering these factors when addressing potential barriers to mHealth adoption and how to overcome them.

Conclusions: The study results can help inform mHealth providers and policymakers regarding the key factors impacting mHealth adoption, guiding them into making educated decisions to foster this adoption and harness the potential benefits.

Keywords: cell or mobile phone; eHealth; electronic health record; health education; mHealth; mobile health; perception; public health practice; smartphone; technology; telehealth; telemedicine; workflow; workload; workplace.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The search string according to the participants, intervention, comparator, and outcome (PICO) framework. mHealth: mobile health.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Study selection flow diagram on the basis of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overview of technological factors and their occurrence. EHR: electronic health record.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Overview of social and organizational factors and their occurrence. mHealth: mobile health; KOL: key opinion leader.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Implications for social and organizational practices. EMR: electronic medical record.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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