User acceptance of ICT for diabetes self-management in the Western Cape, South Africa

This paper identifies key factors affecting the acceptance of ICT for diabetes self-management among patients in low socio-economic communities, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. A case study, using purposive sampling, was used to gather data from 498 diabetic patients in the Western Cape, South Africa. The results of the study confirms that all four independent variables inherent in the UTAUT model provides an explanation of the factors that affect ICT adoption amongst diabetes patients. Although there is strong support in the literature that behavioural intention is a strong indicator of use behaviour, in this study we found that almost 70 percent of respondent to do not use any form of ICT to manage their diabetes. The study also found that the strongest correlation with behavioural intention to use ICT for diabetes self-management (the dependent variable in this study) is effort expectancy, followed by social influence.