Seeking medical advice in mobile applications: How social cue design and privacy concerns influence trust and behavioral intention in impersonal patient–physician interactions

Jiaxin Zhang, Yan Luximon, Qingchuan Li

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Mobile medical consultations are increasingly prevalent, offering various benefits. However, there is still inadequate research about how to build trust in the impersonal patient–physician interaction. This study attempted to facilitate impersonal patient–physician interactions by investigating the effects of social cue design and privacy concerns on two types of trust—trust in physicians and trust in the applications—and understanding how these two types of trust influence behavioral intention in mobile medical consultations. To construct the research model, we collected online survey data from 429 mobile medical consultation users and analyzed the structural model using the partial least square method. The results showed that the social cue design factors not only have various effects on the two types of trust but also decrease privacy concerns. Privacy concerns hinder both types of trust. The impacts of the two types of trust on patients' intention to continue using the service, disclose information, and follow medical advice are also revealed. Our findings allow suggestions for researchers to further investigate the establishment of trust in the impersonal interaction context and provide implications for practitioners to improve mobile medical consultation services.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107178
JournalComputers in Human Behavior
Volume130
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2022

Keywords

  • Behavioral intention
  • Mobile medical consultation
  • Patient–physician interaction
  • Social presence
  • Social validation
  • Trust

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • General Psychology

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