THE PRIMACY OF PERCEIVED RISK AND EASE OF USE: PREDICTING DIGITAL HEALTH APP ADOPTION IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background: The global digital health market is expanding, yet understanding the determinants of mobile health (mHealth) app adoption within the unique context of developing megacities remains critical for scaling these technologies effectively.

Aim: This study aimed to identify the key predictors of adoption intention for digital health apps among the population of Karachi, Pakistan, by examining the roles of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and perceived risk.

Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 385 residents. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS through Pearson correlation and multiple regression to assess relationships and predictive power between the variables.

Result: Correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships between all independent variables and behavioral intention. Surprisingly, regression analysis identified perceived risk (β = .375, p < .001) as the strongest significant positive predictor, followed by perceived ease of use (β = .296, p = .002). Perceived usefulness was not a significant predictor in the multivariate model (p = .065).

Conclusion: The findings indicate that in a resource-constrained urban environment, the intention to adopt digital health apps is primarily driven by ease of use and, counter-intuitively, a high perception of risk, which may be reinterpreted by users as an indicator of the technology's critical utility. This necessitates a contextual approach to mHealth implementation that emphasizes user-friendly design and addresses the specific concerns of the population.