Public health management: impact perception of telemedicine cabin on intention to use[Gestion publique de santé : perception de la cabine de télémédecine]

Public health management faces in some countries major challenges, such as a lack of doctors or health infrastructure and materials, overburdened hospital emergency departments, areas underserved by health services, or, more recently, the crisis management to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. E-health solutions could help solve some of these issues. Younger generations in particular tend to neglect their health, which can lead to serious future health problems. This article aims to analyze the perception of a teleconsultation device, the telemedicine cabin (TC), by young adults. The study is based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) and provides an extension to measure the influence of behavioral beliefs and perceived control on the intention to use TC. This study applies a quantitative methodology. The responses of 150 students enrolled in master's programs in French business schools were taken into account for the analysis. The results, using a Partial Least Squares approach precisely the Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), confirmed the strong impact of model variables: compatibility and self-efficacy for the adoption of the cabin of telemedicine. This research also contradicts the personalization and privacy paradox, with a particular focus on healthcare. It also makes it possible to identify the technological paradox of the studied population, which is generally open to sharing its private information but is reluctant to share its health data. Our results could be used by health professionals and public authorities to respond to uncertainty regarding the quality of services provided by e-health solutions in order to manage better the allocation of resources in the public health system as well as address current and critical health service issues.