Technology acceptability for medical assistance Martina Ziefle Communication Science, RWTH Aachen Human Technology Centre Aachen, Germany ziefle@humtec.rwth-aachen.de Wiktoria Wilkowska Communication Science, RWTH Aachen Human Technology Centre Aachen, Germany wilkowska@humtec.rwth-aachen.de Abstract—In this research we examine the age-specific acceptance motives of medical assistive technologies assessing the general openness of using these technologies as well as estimating potential barriers, which may impede a successful rollout. 122 respondents (20 - 80 years) participated in a survey, in which they were asked to evaluate the pros and cons of the usage of medical assistive technologies, acceptance motives and potential utilization barriers. In order to understand the complex nature of acceptance, personal variables (age, technology generation gender) as well as participants’ learning history with technology (technical experience, subjective technical confidence and general attitudes towards the usage of technologies) were related to each other. Outcomes show that, overall, there is a quite positive motivation regarding the usage of medical technology, though, the perceived usage barriers are weighted more decisive for the acceptability of medical technology than the positively evaluated usage motives. Overall, it was revealed that acceptance issues should be considered in order to proactively design a successful rollout of medical technologies. Keywords: medical technology; ICT; age; gender; user diversity I. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, the number of old and frail people increases continuously and there is incremental need for medical care in the near future, e.g. [1] [2] [3]. In contrast to this increased need for medical care, there are serious shortcomings, because of the increased life expectancy and the improved health care. At the same time, considerable bottlenecks arise from the fact that increasingly fewer people are present, which may take over the nursing. Aggravating, we face supply shortfalls regarding societal health insurance funds [2]. In order to master the exigent requirements of an aging society, improvements in information and communication technologies (ICT) as well as developments in medical engineering are indispensable to offer novel or improved possibilities for medical diagnosis, therapy, treatments and rehabilitation possibilities [4] [5] [6]. So far, research on medical technology is mostly dominated by technical, medical and economic disciplines. The same applies for developments of medical products, which are guided by medical necessity, technical feasibility, and economic interest. In contrast, aspects of humans’ technology acceptance as well as the detailed study and understanding of usage motives and barriers are disregarded within technical development. Though, medical technology - especially in the home-care and rehabilitation sector - can only fully deploy its huge potential for graying societies, if acceptance issues of medical applications are adequately considered and implemented into design. In our opinion, the lack of networking among the disciplines and the missing transfer of knowledge across them during academic education have hindered the creation of truly user-oriented electronic health systems, so far. In addition, the knowledge about the antecedents of electronic health acceptance and utilization behavior on the user side is restricted. This is due to several crucial factors: Aging diversity: One factor in this context is that aging itself represents a highly complex process [7] [8] [9]. Not all users age in the same way, and the onset of aging and frail processes as well as the consequences of the decrease show considerable differences across humans [10] [11] [12]. Another factor that is likely to severely influence older adults’ acceptance of technology is that aged users were educated in times when technical products were far less ubiquitous and much less complex than current devices. A mental model of how technology works, built in a former time, potentially interferes with, or at least is not sufficient for proper interaction with technology. As a consequence, the previous experience is also decisive for satisfying acceptance of devices. This fact is aggravating the situation especially for seniors, as the understanding of how technology works is to a large extent formed by upbringing and cultural factors [9] [12] [13] [14]. The subjective technical confidence (STC) is also discussed as one of the major factors of technology acceptance and system usage. The STC is an individual belief in one’s own ability to solve technical problems [15]. Studies [9] [14] [16] [17] [18] have shown that high scores in computer self-ecacy and technical self confidence are related to performance and technology acceptance, especially in older users, whose self- efficacy is usually lower than the technical self-confidence of younger users. Specificity of technology acceptance: Technology acceptance is examined for more than 25 years now and describes the approval, favorable reception and ongoing use of newly introduced devices and systems. Peoples’ acceptance of technology is predominating the public discourse and the scientific discussion especially in times of technological cycles, in which new technologies are penetrating into personal and working environments. In the 1980ies and 1990ies, alongside with the ubiquitous introduction of personal computers, there was a boom of research dealing with technology acceptance. As technology cycles are increasingly faster, technology acceptance continued to be a key research issue. The majority of approaches dealing with technology acceptance refer to the acceptance of ICT-technologies in a job-related context [10] [19] [20] [21]. Theories of technology acceptance [19] [20] [21] consider mainly two key components