Development of patient’s usage intention towards diabetes applications scale

Objective To develop patient's usage intention towards diabetes applications scale and test its reliability and validity,in order to provide tools for further research on the intention of using diabetes application in patients. Methods Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, the items were collected based on semi-structured interviews and consultations of diabetic patients were experted. After the formal questionnaire was formed, a total of 430 patients with diabetes were surveyed in three general hospitals in Bengbu city, Anhui Province from July to October 2019. After item analysis, the database was divided into two parts, of which database 1(n=201) was used for exploratory factor analysis. In order to determine dimensions and items, database 2(n=201) was used for confirmatory factor analysis and to examine the reliability and validity. The correlation validity of the diabetes application intention scale was verified by analyzing the correlation degree between patients' mobile medical use behavior and the total score of diabetes application intention. Results The final version of the scale contains 18 items,3 dimensions. The cumulative variance contribution rate was 71.191%, and the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that: χ²/df=2.060, GFI=0.858, AGFI=0.816, CFI=0.944, RMSEA=0.073, the correlation coefficient between the total intention score of diabetic application use and the use of diabetes mobile medical behavior r=0.683, P<0.01. The Cronbach's α coefficient of the total scale is 0.930, and the Cronbach's α coefficients of the performance expectations, effort expectations, and social impact dimensions were 0.906, 0.919,and 0.888, respectively. The test-retest reliability of the total scale was 0.934, and the retesting reliability of performance expectations, effort expectations, and social impaction dimensions were 0.900, 0.897, and 0.857, respectively. Conclusion The scale has good reliability and validity and can be a tool for assessing the intention of diabetes applications.