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Dissertation Information for Joanne Gard Marshall

NAME:
- Joanne Gard Marshall
- (Alias) Joanne Marshall

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Medicine

SCHOOL:
- University of Toronto (Canada) (1987)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: The adoption and implementation of online information technology by health professionals

Abstract: The diffusion and adoption of technological innovations are generally considered to be major contributions to the process of social change. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between: 1) the extent to which online information technology was implemented by health professionals in Canada and 2) perceived attributes or characteristics of the innovation derived from classical diffusion of innovation theory. Implementation was viewed as a stage in a dynamic social process in which the characteristics of the innovation, the context of the individual adopter, and the perceived attributes of the innovation were potentially related to variations in implementation behavior.

A case study of the Canadian Medical Association/Telecom Canada iNet 2000 trial was used as a basis for constructing a mailed questionnaire that was sent to 150 health professionals who had been identified as end-users of online biomedical information systems. A response rate of 83% (n=124) was achieved and the data were used to prepare a group profile of early adopters of the innovation.

Results of the regression analyses indicated that the adopters' perceptions of the attributes of the innovation predicted up to 48% oft he variance in implementation behaviour. Three of the perceived attributes, relative advantage, compatability, and complexity, were found to be the strongest predictors of implementation level. Further correlational analyses showed that a variety of characteristics of the adopters and their work situations were related to both implementation and perceived attributes. Positive correlations with implementation level were found for the following variables: amount of time spent in research activities, specialty practice, amount of system training received, and use of the thesaurus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). There was a negative association between the amount of time spent in patient care and implementation. Successful implementers were more likely to be computer literate and to highly value formal information sources such as books, journals, and libraries. Early adopters who made independent decisions to adopt the innovation had higher implementation levels than participants in special pilot projects. Health professionals using so-called "user-friendly" or menu-based software had lower levels of personal commitment to the innovation, as measured by a combination of continuance of the innovation, willingness to pay personally, type of recommendations made to colleagues, and hardware ownership.

MPACT Scores for Joanne Gard Marshall

A = 5
C = 8
A+C = 13
T = 12
G = 3
W = 6
TD = 8.25
TA = 2
calculated 2017-05-11 16:47:38

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