THE EFFECT OF MOBILE HEALTH SERVICE QUALITY ON USER SATISFACTION AND CONTINUAL USAGE

ABSTRACT The increased use of mobile phones to access healthcare service by both health professionals and consumers has raised the need for more attention to be focused on mobile health (mHealth) service quality issues. The purpose of this study is to assess the level of mHealth technology service quality and its effect on user satisfaction and continual usage intentions among rural communities in Ghana. This study seeks to examine causal relationships between four variables, namely: mHealth service quality; user satisfaction; continual usage; and monetary cost. A purposive sampling method was used to select three hundred and five (305) respondents. The population of the study were women in rural communities in the Central Region of Ghana who have used mHealth technology services. The mHealth service quality model was adopted for the study. Results are presented using structural equation techniques. The study revealed that, among the three dimensions of mHealth service quality (system, interaction and information quality), only interaction quality is statistically related to user satisfaction. Secondly, all the three mHealth service quality dimensions were found to have a positive impact on continual usage with information quality having the strongest impact. Thirdly, satisfaction has a strong relationship with continual usage; and finally, low monetary cost has a positive influence on user satisfaction and continual usage of mHealth technological service for maternal healthcare. The findings suggest that policy makers and service providers must incorporate good customer care practices and periodic training of both health and information technology personnel on good customer relationship in the design and implementation of mHealth services.