Acceptance of digital technologies for cardiovascular prevention: an Italian UTUAT-based study

Technology acceptance is a major factor for its adoption. Within the INNOPREV multicentre trial (PNRR-MAD-2022-12375795), funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, we evaluated a mobile health solution to promote healthy lifestyles in Italian adults aged 40–69 at moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk, using the UTAUT framework. The UTAUT questionnaire, comprising 16 items rated on a 1–5 Likert scale, was administered in two of the four trial arms (the two using the digital health technologies, one of which supported by genetic risk information) to assess Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), and Facilitating Conditions (FC). Mean and Standard Deviation (SD) were calculated for each construct. Internal consistency of UTAUT construct and inter-construct associations were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. Differences between sociodemographic subgroups were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and post-hoc comparisons. The majority of the 519 participants enrolled in the two arms were male (52.21%) and the mean age of the sample was 56.51 years (SD 7.16). UTAUT scores were relatively high across all constructs: PE (mean 3.85, SD 0.72), EE (mean 3.71, SD 0.86), SI (mean 4.14, SD 0.68), and FC (mean 4.11, SD 0.53). Internal consistency was high for PE (α = 0.89) and EE(α = 0.91), and acceptable for SI (α = 0.81) and FC (α = 0.73). Spearman’s correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations among all constructs (all p < 0.001), with rho coefficients ranging from 0.25 (SI and EE) to 0.59 (FC and EE), indicating weak-to-moderate inter-construct correlation. Differences were observed for PE, EE and FC in respect to age, sex, occupation, education level and previous digital health technology use. SI only showed an association with education level. Findings suggest moderate-to-high acceptance, but sociodemographic differences may hinder equitable digital health adoption.

Key messages

• INNOPREV participants showed favourable acceptance across all UTAUT domains, supporting the potential of mHealth in cardiovascular prevention.

• Differences by sociodemographic profile and prior digital health use highlight the need for tailored implementation strategies.