The acceptance of mobile teledermoscopy by primary care nurse practitioners in the state of Arizona.
OBJECTIVE
To conduct a pilot survey to assess acceptance of mobile teledermoscopy (MTD) by primary care nurse practitioners (NPs) working in Arizona.


METHODS
Sixty-two participants recruited from NP and academic listservs in Arizona completed an online survey prefaced by a MTD definition, device photographs, and a practice case, followed by 33 items measuring Teledermatology Technology Acceptance Model (TeleTAM) constructs.


CONCLUSIONS
Participants were highly interested in using MTD to assess skin lesions. They perceived MTD utility to greatly improve diagnosis and positively impact their practice. Most participants had never used MTD, but had high mean scores for MTD attitude and moderate scores for MTD perceived ease of use, perceived use, and facilitators of MTD. They had moderate scores for intention to use MTD. The construct facilitators (organizational infrastructure) were most strongly associated with intention to use MTD. Cronbach alphas were 0.70 or higher for all subscales except compatibility and habit.


CONCLUSIONS
Moderate acceptance of MTD may reflect NPs' knowledge of the technology, self-confidence for using it, or MTD financial constraints. Future research will address these factors to foster use of MTD by NPs, thereby improving patients' access to early skin lesion assessment and diagnosis.
College of Nursing, Doctorate of Nursing Practice and PhD student, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Delaney
D
Stratton
College of Nursing, Zuckerman College of Public Health and Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Lois J
LJ
Loescher
D000328:Adult; D001130:Arizona; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D046169:Dermoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*
Dermatology; cancer; primary care; technology