User Perceived Service Quality of mHealth Services in Developing Countries

Health challenges present arguably the most significant barrier to sustainable global development. The introduction of ICT in healthcare, especially the application of mobile communications, has created the potential to transform healthcare delivery by making it more accessible, affordable and effective across the developing world. However, there is growing concerns about the quality of such services with regard to the robustness of the service delivery platform, knowledge and competence of the provider, privacy and security of information and above all, their effects on satisfaction, future use intentions and quality of life. The aim of this paper is to explore, analyze and critically assess the use of existing service quality theories in the light of evolving and ubiquitous healthcare services and their underlying technologies. The conceptual model of the study identifies that there are three primary quality dimensions (platform quality, interaction quality and outcome quality) and ten subdimensions (System reliability, system efficiency, system availability, system adaptability, system privacy, assurance, responsivness, empathy, functional benefits and emotinal benefits) which play a vital role in capturing users’ overall perceptions of mobile health services. Finally, the study identifies future research directions and highlights the managerial implications in the context of developing countries. Disciplines Business | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Akter, S., D'Ambra, J. & Ray, P. (2010). User perceived service quality of m-Health services in developing countries. 18th European Conference on Information Systems (pp. 1-12). Pretoria, South Africa: University of Pretoria. This conference paper is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/3128 USER PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY OF M-HEALTH SERVICES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Akter, Shahriar, School of Information Systems, Technology and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia, [email protected] D’Ambra, John, School of Information Systems, Technology and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia, [email protected] Ray, Pradeep, School of Information Systems, Technology and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia, [email protected]