Technology Experience of Solid Organ Transplant Patients and Their Overall Willingness to Use Interactive Health Technology

Background The use of interactive health technology (IHT) is a promising pathway to tackle self‐management problems experienced by many chronically ill patients, including solid organ transplant (Tx) patients. Yet, to ensure that the IHT is accepted and used, a human‐centered design process is needed, actively involving end users in all steps of the development process. A first critical, predevelopment step involves understanding end users’ characteristics. This study therefore aims to (a) select an IHT platform to deliver a self‐management support intervention most closely related to Tx patients’ current use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), (b) understand Tx patients’ overall willingness to use IHT for self‐management support, and investigate associations with relevant technology acceptance variables, and (c) explore Tx patients’ views on potential IHT features. Design and Methods We performed a cross‐sectional, descriptive study between October and December 2013, enrolling a convenience sample of adult heart, lung, liver, and kidney Tx patients from the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium. Broad inclusion criteria were applied to ensure a representative patient sample. We used a 35‐item newly designed interview questionnaire to measure Tx patients’ use of ICTs, their overall willingness to use IHT, and their views on potential IHT features, as well as relevant technology acceptance variables derived from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and a literature review. Descriptive statistics were used as appropriate, and an ordinal logistic regression model was built to determine the association between Tx patients’ overall willingness to use IHT, the selected technology acceptance variables, and patient characteristics. Findings Out of 139 patients, 122 agreed to participate (32 heart, 30 lung, 30 liver, and 30 kidney Tx patients; participation rate: 88%). Most patients were male (57.4%), married or living together (68%), and had a mean age of 55.9 ± 13.4 years. Only 27.9% of Tx patients possessed a smartphone, yet 72.1% owned at least one desktop or laptop PC with wireless Internet at home. On a 10‐point numeric scale, asking patients whether they think IHT development is important to support them personally in their self‐management, patients gave a median score of 7 (25th percentile 5 points; 75th percentile 10 points). Patients who were single or married or living together were more likely to give a higher rating t