Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire (DHAQ)

Abstract

The Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire (DHAQ; Haydon et al., 2023) is an original inventory/questionnaire designed to measure consumers’ acceptability of telehealth services delivered via telephone and videoconference consultations. The DHAQ assesses digital health acceptability and was developed using a deductive method based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA; Sekhon, Cartwright, & Francis, 2017). An initial pool of 19 items was generated, leading to two distinct sets of questions: one for telephone appointments and one for videoconference appointments. The questionnaire was administered to a nationally representative sample of consumers in Australia. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted for both scales (telephone and videoconference), revealing two-factor solutions, each consisting of 5 items. The study also reported on the internal consistency and construct validity of the DHAQ. Future research suggestions from the authors include testing the convergent and divergent validity of the DHAQ against the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM-21; Davis, 1989). The DHAQ-Telephone Appointments and DHAQ-Videoconference Appointments are alternate names for the test.

Keywords

Attitude toward the Service, Consumer Attitudes, Digital Health Acceptability, Individual Capacity and Effort to Use Telehealth, Telehealth, Telephone Consultation, Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, Videoconference Consultation.

Authors

Helen M. Haydon, Taylor Major, Jaimon T. Kelly, Soraia de C. Catapan, Liam J. Caffery, Anthony C. Smith, Victor Gallegos-Rejas, Emma E. Thomas, Annie Banbury, Centaine L. Snoswell.

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Purpose

The DHAQ was designed to assess consumers’ acceptability of telehealth services accessed via telephone and videoconferences.

Validity

Construct Validity: The results of the exploratory factor analyses provided evidence for the construct validity of both the telephone and videoconference questionnaires.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the full 10-item acceptability telephone questionnaire were 0.91, and for the videoconference questionnaire, they were 0.92, indicating strong internal consistency for both scales.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis: Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFAs) with Oblimin rotation were conducted. These analyses identified two-factor solutions for both the DHAQ-Telehealth and DHAQ-Videoconference questionnaires. These solutions explained 70.355% and 67.312% of the total variance, respectively, for the telephone and videoconference versions.

Instrument: Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire (DHAQ)

Test Type: Original

Format: Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with response options including “strongly disagree,” “somewhat disagree,” “neither agree nor disagree,” “somewhat agree,” and “strongly agree.”

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human (Male, Female)

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older)

Population Details: The study participants were a representative sample of Australians who had used telehealth within the past year. The data was collected in Australia.

Test Methodology: The development and validation of the DHAQ involved Test Validity, Construct Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Taylor Major: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2531-8221

• Jaimon T. Kelly: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0232-5848

• Liam J. Caffery: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1899-7534

• Anthony C. Smith: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-5136

• Victor Gallegos-Rejas: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9856-4848

• Annie Banbury: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8841-1215

• Centaine L. Snoswell: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4298-9369

Affiliation:

All authors (Helen M. Haydon, Taylor Major, Jaimon T. Kelly, Soraia de C. Catapan, Liam J. Caffery, Anthony C. Smith, Victor Gallegos-Rejas, Emma E. Thomas, Annie Banbury, and Centaine L. Snoswell) are affiliated with the University of Queensland, Centre for Online Health.

Email Addresses:

• Helen M. Haydon: [email protected]

Correspondence Address:

Helen M. Haydon: Princess Alexandra Hospital, University of Queensland, Centre for Online Health, Ground Floor, Building 33, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia, 4102.
Email: [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: May be used for Research/Teaching purposes.
Commercial Use: No
Fee: No
Test Year: 2023

References

Haydon, H. M., Major, T., Kelly, J. T., Catapan, S. d. C., Caffery, L. J., Smith, A. C., Gallegos-Rejas, V., Thomas, E. E., Banbury, A., & Snoswell, C. L. (2023). Development and validation of the Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 29(10, Suppl), 8S–15S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X231202279

Items of the Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire (DHAQ)

 

Thinking about all of the telehealth [phone/video] appointments that you have ever had, please choose the response [Strongly disagree through to Strongly agree] below that best fits your opinion.

1. Telehealth fits with my idea of what good healthcare should be.

2. Having [phone/video] appointments is in line with my healthcare goals.

3. It took very little effort to have appointments via [phone/video].

4. Having healthcare appointments via [phone/video] was not a burden.

5. I believe [phone/video] appointments meet my healthcare needs.

6. Having [phone/video] appointments saved me time.

7. Telehealth [phone/video] was easy for me to use.

8. I have no doubt in my ability to set up and have my healthcare appointments via [phone/video].

9. I really enjoy having my healthcare appointments via [phone/video].

10. I liked having my healthcare appointments via [phone/video].