Decoding intention to use mHealth from an adaptive goal-setting perspective

Lockdown measures and prolonged physical inactivity during the COVID-19 pandemic have made people more health-conscious and led them to strive to stay physically fit. Mobile health (mHealth) has emerged as a convenient and cost-effective tool to deliver healthcare services and help people monitor their health. The present chapter draws on adaptive goal-setting theory to examine the perception of using mHealth by individuals in Malaysia, a developing country. More specifically, it investigates how setting and adjusting personal goals can affect behavioral change techniques to encourage the use of mHealth to become more health-conscious. The researchers also explore the potential barriers to the use of mHealth as an emerging technology. Data obtained from a sample of 183 adults in Malaysia were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The empirical results show that positive tenacious goal pursuits (TGP) and positive flexible goal adjustments (FGA) provide mHealth users with correct behavioral change techniques (BCTs) that lead to greater intention (INT) to use mHealth and associated wearable devices and, consequently, achieve greater health consciousness (HC). The findings show that users’ technological anxiety (TA) negatively mediates the effect of BCTs on INT, whereas habit (HAB) has a direct positive effect on INT. This chapter provides practical insights and recommendations for setting and adjusting personal goals for using mHealth and associated wearable devices to promote better personal health consciousness.