The use of chatbots in medical treatment has shown great potential and benefits as many hospitals around the world have incorporated this technology into their patient care strategies. There is however, limited literature and knowledge on the health care workers’ perceptions regarding the integration of chatbots in the patients’ disease diagnosis and medical care particularly in the developing countries’ hospitals. There is therefore an urgent need to understand health care workers’ perceptions relating to using chatbots in medical care of a unique context of a developing country. Guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology {UTAUT) the study therefore investigates health care workers’ perceptions on the adoption of chatbots for medical care. Using qualitative data collected from a single hospital case in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, a developing country in Southern Africa, this research show that the chatbots’ potential in medical care is influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, gender, age, experience and voluntariness of use. These findings extend the body of knowledge through the rich knowledge and insightful understanding of health care workers perceptions about chatbots in medical care. These are essential findings that benefit the policy makers and hospital key stakeholders who must make informed decisions regarding the integration of innovative technologies to a critical context of medical care. The future of such innovations as chatbots depends on the full knowledge of the perceptions and expectations of health care workers to enable the hospitals to realize the returns from such and similar innovations.

Authors:
Sibusisiwe Dube, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe
Sithabile Sibanda, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe
Belinda Ndlovu, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Sibusisiwe Dube is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe

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