Currently submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 9, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Sep 10, 2026 - Nov 5, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Examining the Relation Between Technology Acceptance for eHealth Applications and Health Status: Protocol for a Systematic Review Focusing on Psychological Models and Measurement Methods
ABSTRACT
Background:
The acceleration of digital transformation in the healthcare sector necessitates the implementation of patient-centered methodologies to ensure the effective execution of these changes. Psychological research has effectively adapted technology, such as acceptance research in eHealth settings to understand usage intention and enhance applications for end-users. A body of empirical research has provided evidence for the relevance of health status and health-related psychological determinants in the acceptance of eHealth applications.
Objective:
The objective of this systematic review is to examine the relationship between users'/patients' health status and their psychological processes concerning technology acceptance for eHealth applications in current empirical studies. Moreover, this review seeks to ascertain the pertinence of manifest and latent constructs methodologies employed for their measurement.
Methods:
The protocol was developed in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A systematic literature review will be conducted in PubMed, Web of Science and APA PsycNET to identify peer-reviewed empirical studies from January 1, 2000 to April 30, 2026. Eligible studies must investigate acceptance of eHealth application in a sample group that possesses a concrete health status or health-related determinants. Study screening, data extraction and assessment will be in an independent and double-blind manner by two reviewers. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) will be applied in this process. Results will be synthesized narratively.
Results:
This review is in progress, with 604 records remaining after deduplication. Records are currently being screened. We expected finishing data extraction and assessments in beginning of 2027 with the submission of the systematic review in its entirety expected to occur in the fall of the same year.
Conclusions:
The planned review will give a comprehensive overview of the role of health status and health-related determinants in technology acceptance of eHealth applications including applied measurement methods. Results will establish a foundation for future empirical investigation of the role of health status in eHealth acceptance research. Moreover, they are expected to provide evidence for the practical consideration of users' health status in user-centered development and evaluation of eHealth applications. Clinical Trial: PROSEPRO CRD420251084227; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251084227
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