Military Doctors' and Nurses' Perceptions of Telemedicine and the Factors Affecting Use Intention

This study investigated military doctors' and nurses' perceptions of telemedicine and the factors influencing their intention to use it based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. This study adopted a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional descriptive approach. It used a web questionnaire for data collection over a 5-week period, starting in June 2021. A total of 72.6% of participants indicated that telemedicine is required in the military. The intention to use telemedicine was significantly higher among women, younger individuals (<30 years), and military nurses. In addition, factors such as voluntariness of use, performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions positively affected the intention to use telemedicine. To improve military doctors' and nurses' use and understanding of telemedicine, consensus must be reached regarding its use in military contexts. Discussions that incorporate opposing views should be encouraged as well. Moreover, the voluntariness of use significantly affected respondents' intention to use telemedicine. There is an urgent need, therefore, for in-depth analyses of the various factors associated with voluntariness of use of telemedicine; the resulting insights could be used to encourage military doctors and nurses to adopt telemedicine. Finally, along with promoting the use of smartphones for medical consultation among military personnel, military nurses' role should be extended to include health consultation using smartphones. This could promote the active use of telemedicine in military nursing, which could contribute to health promotion among military personnel.