Factors Associated with the Intention to Adopt Digital Health Technologies for Physical Activity Among People with Disabilities: An Integrated Technology Acceptance Model–Theory of Planned Behavior Framework
Open accessAbstract
Background/Objectives: Digital health technologies may support physical activity participation among people with disabilities, yet their adoption remains limited because of accessibility, usability, and implementation barriers. This study examined factors associated with the intention to adopt digital health technologies for physical activity among people with disabilities using an integrated Technology Acceptance Model–Theory of Planned Behavior framework. Methods: Data were collected from 362 individuals with physical, visual, or hearing impairments who participated in community-based sports programs in South Korea. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the integrated model, and indirect effects were examined using bias-corrected bootstrapping. Results: The final model showed acceptable fit. Perceived ease of use was positively associated with perceived usefulness, and both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were positively associated with attitude and perceived behavioral control. Attitude and subjective norm were positively associated with intention to adopt digital health technologies, whereas perceived behavioral control showed a significant inverse association. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were indirectly associated with intention primarily through attitude. Conclusions: The integrated framework provided a useful, although incomplete, explanation of digital health technology adoption intention among people with disabilities and suggests that perceived control may operate differently in disability-related digital health contexts. Adoption strategies should emphasize perceived benefits, positive user evaluations, accessible design, social support, and implementation conditions that reduce structural barriers to physical activity and health management.
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The Technology Acceptance Model holds significant value for technology-assisted undergraduate health treatment, as it provides a structured psychological framework to evaluate how digital interventions transition from clinical tools to accepted patient practices.
“The Technology Acceptance Model holds significant value for technology-assisted undergraduate health treatment, as it provides a structured psychological framework to evaluate how digital interventions transition from clinical tools to accepted patient practices [50,51].”
From Advancing Undergraduate Student Mental Healthcare of Social Anxiety Disorder: Evaluating the Acceptance of AR-Assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Through TAM-Based Constructs. (2026) · cites this paper as [50]
Section 2.1 describes TAM as a framework for understanding acceptance of digital health technologies through perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitudes, and intentions. The paper applies it to physical-activity technologies among people with disabilities; it does not address undergraduate health treatment or establish a transition from clinical tools to accepted patient practices. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Zhou, Z., Zhou, Y., Ouyang, B., Man, S. S., & Chan, A. H. S. (2026) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare14131978
“The Technology Acceptance Model holds significant value for technology-assisted undergraduate health treatment, as it provides a structured psychological framework to evaluate how digital interventions transition from clinical tools to accepted patient practices [50,51].”
Göktaş, B. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-92-1629-1_264-1
- Authors
- Park, J., Lee, H., Kwon, Y., Cho, G., & Yun, J.
- Affiliations
- Pusan National University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Kwon, Yongchul
- Cho, Gunsang
- Yun, Junghee
- Venue
- Healthcare
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2026-05-14
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1344
- ISSN
- 2227-9032 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W7161164624
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2
- FWCI
- 14.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Healthcare (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea
- National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2024S1A5A2A03038753)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Technology Adoption and User Behaviour
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Health, Technology, Consumer Behavior
- Keywords
- digital health adoption, physical activity, people with disabilities, technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, accessible design
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