Patient Compliance Behavior in a Mobile Healthcare System: An Integration of Theories of Rational Choice and Planned Behavior

Abstract

The lack of patient compliance to medical recommendations and treatments suggested by doctors has long been a significant problem. In practice, patient education is considered an important intervention to empower patients and increase their compliance. It has been advocated as a means of improving patient medical knowledge and compliance. However, evidence of the efficacy of computer-aided patient education is still relatively limited; little is known on how the latest mobile technologies affect patients’ compliance behavior. Based on Rational Choice Theory (RCT) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we propose and test a research model to investigate the compliance behavior of patients supported by a mobile healthcare system. We conducted a field survey with actual patients in the U.S. who used the system, and employed SEM techniques for data analysis. Overall, we found strong support for using RCT and TPB as a key theoretical foundation to assess patients’ compliance behavior.