JMIR aging
Integrating Perceived Psychosocial Outcomes Into the Assessment of Telecare Acceptability Among Slovenian Informal Caregivers of Older People: Cross-Sectional Survey Study
By Dolničar V, Berzelak N, Taipale S and 1 others.
Abstract
Background
While telecare has considerable potential to improve home care services, benefit older adults, and support informal caregivers, its adoption remains limited. There is also a notable gap in empirical research on the factors that influence informal caregivers' behavioral intention to use telecare. In particular, existing theoretical acceptance models are insufficiently comprehensive, as they do not specifically address informal caregivers of older adults and have largely overlooked the psychosocial outcomes of engaging with telecare.
Objective
This study examined the behavioral intention of Slovenian informal caregivers of older adults to use telecare, focusing on the preuse stage of technology acceptance, by integrating the perceived psychosocial outcomes of telecare engagement (peace of mind, reduced anxiety, sense of safety, and perceived connectedness with the care recipient) into the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model.