Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2015

Abstract

Information technology (IT) in healthcare is here to stay. The United States government has made efforts in the past ten years to harness the power of information technologies in healthcare to improve legibility, lessen medical errors, keep costs low, and boost the overall quality of health care. However, IT user resistance in healthcare is continually cited as a major barrier to achieving desired outcomes. Understanding the nature and manifestation of resistance is clearly a key to successfully managing this industry-wide change, fostering adoption, and realizing positive outcomes. Earlier research had established perceived threats as a significant antecedent of user resistance; but its nature and role has remained vastly unexplored. This study draws from the psychological reactance theory and justice literature, to explain both the nature and relationship of perceived threats and user resistance to IT within the healthcare setting. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings shall be discussed.

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