Mobile technology acceptance among undergraduate nursing students instructed by blended learning at selected educational institutions in South India

BACKGROUND: Mobile phones have become a widely accepted learning mode due to the impact of COVID-19. This study explores the mobile technology acceptance, among nursing students at selected educational institutions in South India.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative cross-sectional descriptive design. First-year 176 B.Sc. nursing students who underwent blended learning were selected by the purposive sampling method. The tool "Technology Acceptance Model " was used to collect responses. Bivariate analysis was used to determine the relationship between the demographic and study-related variables with the mobile technology acceptance using SPSS version 25.0.RESULTS: The majority 73.9% of the students belonged to the age group of 18-19 years, females 76.7% and, 98.9% were unmarried. Among the constructs of TAM, a mean (SD) value of 22.08 (2.26) was found for material (mobile device audio/video) characteristics the mean (SD) value was 22.08 (2.26), attitude about use 17.58 (1.95), behavioral intention 17.46 (1.78) and system characteristics 17.21 (2.27). The mobile technology acceptance revealed that 126 (71.6%) strongly agreed, 49 (27.8%) agreed, and 1 (0.6%) was neutral with a mean (SD) of 105.19 (8.68), respectively. A positive correlation was found between the system characteristics, material characteristics, perceived ease to use, perceived usefulness, attitude about the use, behavioral intention with a P value < 0.001. There was a statistically significant association between Mobile technology acceptance and time spent by the students for independent studies shown the Chi-square value of 12.7, with P value < 0.05.CONCLUSION: Nursing students had a positive acceptance and behavior toward smartphone use.