Investigating the antecedents of perceived threats and user resistance to health information technology: Towards a comprehensive user resistance model

Health Information Technology (HIT) has the potential to improve healthcare delivery by reducing medical errors, improving service quality, and lowering healthcare cost. Despite evident integration benefits of HIT, use of HIT by medical staff and hospitals remain low, user resistance being one of the major factors involved. The literature indicates that user resistance to HIT is predicated by their perception. However, we do not fully understand how some users' perception is formed. In this study, we aim to investigate the organisational factors, the personal traits of the user, HIT-related factors, and the factors related to the interaction between physicians and nurses and the organisation that lead to perceived threat, risk, and dissatisfaction. The study develops a comprehensive model that builds on, and extends, existing theories of user resistance. The model will be developed by studying user resistance from a post-implementation perspective using a qualitative approach, in which qualitative data collection and analysis methods will be used. The study will lead to a better understanding of the phenomenon, as it will contribute to identifying the core reasons for resistance, which in turn will help organisations solve the root causes of the problem.