Author ORCID Identifier
James Cosmas Kalulu: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4430-0999
Min Wang: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2488-6611
Abstract
Digital healthcare platforms have the potential to advance healthcare equity in developing countries; however, their adoption remains hindered by institutional voids that erode trust. Grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Institutional Trust Theory, this study investigates how perceived transparency influences behavioral intention to adopt DHPs in Tanzania by enhancing perceived health data security, perceived risk mitigation, and performance expectancy. Using data from 240 primary healthcare recipients analyzed via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the results reveal a “Perceptual Institutional Trust Pathway” in which perceived transparency drives behavioral intention. This influence occurs through a sequential process: perceived transparency enhances perceived health data security, which, in turn, fosters perceived risk mitigation and performance expectancy. This finding demonstrates that institutional trust builds cumulatively and is foundational to behavioral intention to adopt DHPs in low-trust settings. Based on these results, we recommend incorporating visible, user-centered trust signals, such as local-language interfaces and insurance integration, as evidence-based strategies to promote equitable DHP adoption in developing countries.
Recommended Citation
Kalulu, J. C.,
&
Wang, M.
(In press).
Bridging Trust Barriers for Equitable Digital Healthcare Platforms: Lessons from Tanzania.
Information Technology for Development.
Available at:
https://aisel.aisnet.org/itd/vol32/iss3/22