User preference for an IoT healthcare application for lifestyle disease management

Abstract

The current convergence between information and communications technology (ICT) and medical fields reflects a shared vision of seamlessly connected sensors and devices that can improve healthcare services, and an expectation of the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) healthcare. This study provides a relevant guide for IoT healthcare service developers, from the perspective of the technology user. Particularly, we propose critical factors that will potentially influence users' acceptance of an IoT lifestyle disease management service. Information on the profession of service providers, task scope, devices, expert support, and a range of shared personal medical data were suggested as important attributes. Conjoint analysis was adopted to estimate the relative importance of proposed attributes and preferences for service specifications. Data and medical history were collected from 435 respondents. The model was analyzed and compared between the groups with different medical histories, respectively. The results showed that potential users, in general, require a safe and trustworthy healthcare service, rather than greater functionality, while medical history has a considerable influence on the perceived importance of the proposed attributes.