The role of trust in health care professionals in the diet app context: an approach based on the extended UTAUT model

Abstract

The growing concern about health problems related to poor eating habits has begun to worry society. The rise of mHealth and the existence of diet apps are tools that could help to mitigate this problem. This paper seeks to understand the users’ Intention to use these kinds of apps, based on the UTAUT model. For this purpose, we obtained a sample of 426 questionnaire respondents. Structural equations based on partial least squares were used for the statistical analysis. The results demonstrate the relevance of performance expectancy, social influence, and Trust in health care professionals as predictors of Intention to use. Knowledge is provided regarding Trust in mHealth. This study proposes one of the firsts insights of a conditional mediation on mHealth which implies performance expectancy, Trust in healthcare professionals and Intention to use.