Factors Driving the Adoption of Online Medical Platforms by Infectious Disease Patients: Psychological distance as the mediator

Abstract

Introduction: Managing common infectious diseases is becoming more challenging for public health. Patients often face high infection risks, limited medical resources, complex treatment procedures, psychological stress, and unequal access to information. This study is based on the Technology Acceptance Model and Construal Level Theory. It uses Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) to examine how psychological distance, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use influence patients’ intention to use online medical platforms.

Methods: To enhance the healthcare experience for patients with infectious diseases, this study examines psychological distance as a mediating factor in the adoption of telemedicine. We conducted a structured survey with 563 patients in Guangdong Province, China, from June 2023 to July 2024. We analyzed the relationships among perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, psychological distance, and behavioral intention using AMOS and SPSS 22.0.

Results: The results show that perceived usefulness greatly increases perceived ease of use. Psychological distance was found to mediate the effects of both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on patients’ intention to adopt telemedicine services (p < 0.05). The CB-SEM analysis confirms the theoretical consistency and demonstrates the model’s flexibility. These findings suggest that psychological distance is a crucial mechanism through which perceived usefulness and ease of use influence the adoption of telemedicine among patients with infectious diseases.

Conclusions: Three factors—perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and psychological distance—affect the adoption of telemedicine. Among these, psychological distance acts as a key mediator. When telemedicine platforms reduce psychological distance in four areas (temporal, spatial, social, and situational), they significantly increase the willingness of infectious disease patients to use remote healthcare services.