A comparative analysis of digital health usage intentions towards the adoption of virtual reality in telerehabilitation

Background: With the rapid development of the metaverse and the problem of non-attendance in traditional rehabilitation, virtual reality in telerehabilitation has become increasingly vital in modern medicine. However, research on determining predictors that influence the public's behavioral intention to adopt VR-based telerehabilitation has not been extensively studied. Objective: This study aims to propose a new research model with a comparative analysis on understanding factors affecting the public's behavioral intention to adopt VR in telerehabilitation for different user groups. Methods: A total of 215 respondents from the general public completed an online questionnaire to validate the proposed research model. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. The proposed model was additionally validated using CFA and multiple linear regression. Results: This study found that effort expectancy, threat appraisals, and trust had a positive significant influence on the public's behavioral intention to adopt VR in telerehabilitation. However, performance expectancy and facilitating conditions had no significant relationship with behavioral intention. Notably, the average of the primary factors for older adults was generally higher than for younger adults. Conclusions: The present study confirms the applicability of the proposed research model. Our findings contribute up-to-date insights for related stakeholders to minimize implementation failures and develop successful adoption strategies for the future expansion of telerehabilitation.