The Adoption of smart health services by older adults in retirement communities: analysis with the technology acceptance model (TAM)

Currently, an increasing number of elderly people are choosing to live in elderly care communities, where they have access to smart health services. Despite the availability of these services, the utilization rate among the elderly remains low, resulting in the elderly not fully experiencing the benefits of this advanced technology. To ensure more elderly people to receive these benefits, this study constructed a model of the mechanisms affecting the use of smart health services by elderly people in retirement communities based on the TAM theory and collected data through questionnaires. A total of 1,292 valid questionnaires were collected from 8 retirement communities in several cities in China, and the data were analyzed by PLS-SEM. This study finds that different types of trust differ in how they influence the elderly's perception of smart health services; perceived ease of use cannot directly affect the elderly's willingness to adopt smart health services but should be achieved through the influence of health expectations; various types of social support play an important role in the elderly's perceived usability of smart health services; and perceived usefulness plays an important role in the adoption of smart health services. In addition, through a multi-cohort comparative analysis, this study found differences in gender, age, income, and education in the adoption of health services by the elderly. The findings support the advancement and implementation of smart healthcare services among the elderly.