The emergence of mobile payment (m-payment) resulted in the disruption of many sectors in the business sphere, particularly the retail industry. However, the acceptance of m-payment still has ...substantial room for improvement. Therefore, this study purports to ascertain the critical antecedents that impact the m-payment adoption intention, in particular the type of m-payment that utilizes the Quick Response (QR) code technology, through an extended Mobile Technology Acceptance Model. On top of offering several theoretical implications, numerous practical implications are also provided for stakeholders in the retail sector.
•This study focused on a single type of mobile payment that utilizes QR code.•The Mobile Technology Acceptance Model was extended with non-technological factors.•Mobile usefulness and optimism have direct impacts on intention to adopt.•Perceived transaction convenience has positive association with mobile usefulness.•Perceived transaction speed matters in improving mobile ease of use.
OBJECTIVES:Chronic pain places a burden on individuals and the economy. Although there is evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive-behavior therapy, it is recognized that the effects are limited. ...Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which aims to increase valued action in the presence of pain, has been suggested as an alternative approach. The objective of this review was to determine the clinical effectiveness of ACT for chronic pain in adults when compared with control conditions and other active treatments.
METHODS:The searches of this systematic review were conducted in the Cochrane library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus (EBSCO), and PsycINFO. Grey literature, reference list, and reverse citation searches were also completed.
RESULTS:Eleven trials were included. ACT was favored over controls (no alternative intervention or treatment as usual). Significant, medium to large effect sizes were found for measures of pain acceptance and psychological flexibility, which are typically considered processes of ACT. Significant small to medium effect sizes were found for measures of functioning, anxiety, and depression. Measures of pain intensity and quality of life were not significantly different than zero. Generally effect sizes were smaller at follow-up.
DISCUSSION:ACT was more clinically effective than controls on a number of outcomes. It is possible that methodological limitations, some of which are common to psychological trials, may have led to overestimated effects. Only a few studies compared ACT to active treatments and while the evidence is promising for ACT in the treatment of chronic pain, further methodologically robust trials are required.
Can politicians facilitate citizen acceptance of unwelcome policy decisions by acting responsively during the decision-making process? We suggest a framework to analyze the responsiveness–acceptance ...connection and report findings from two studies designed for that purpose. First, we ran a survey experiment to examine how exogenously induced responsiveness actions affect reactions to a policy decision. Second, we conducted a case study to see how results hold up in a real-world setting. We find that responsiveness actions are rewarded provided that citizens are convinced that politicians have paid attention to their wishes and views. Responsiveness actions that signal willingness to communicate (“to listen” and “to explain”) are more effective than the action to follow majority opinion (“to adapt”). However, the responsiveness–acceptance connection is sensitive to perceptual bias; policy losers are hard pressed to accept that politicians have indeed acted responsively.
Highlights • This study tests model of explaining the post-adoption behaviors of using health apps. • Confirmation of primary expectation of health apps plays the key roles. • Satisfaction with ...health apps use positively affects continuance intention of those apps. • Perceived usefulness of health apps positively affects continuance intention. • Perceived ease of using health apps significantly influences continuance intention.
Vaccine hesitancy is cited as one of the top threats to global health. The Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Company was found to have violated good manufacturing practices in July 2018, leading to ...widespread distribution of sub-potent vaccines in China. We estimated the prevalence and determinants of vaccine hesitancy following the Changchun Changsheng vaccine incident (CCVI).
We conducted a cross-sectional survey in China in January 2019, and 2,124 caregivers of children < 6 years old completed self-administered questionnaires. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the determinants of vaccine hesitancy; the potential determinants included demographics, socioeconomic status, vaccine confidence, and knowledge of the CCVI. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported.
Around 89% of caregivers had heard of the CCVI. Although 83% and 88% of caregivers agreed that vaccines are safe and effective, respectively, 60% expressed some hesitancy about vaccination. Of those hesitant, 26% vaccinated their children at times with doubts, 31% delayed vaccination and 3% refused specific vaccines. Multinomial regression analysis showed that confidence in vaccine safety was associated with a reduced odds of doubts on vaccination (AOR = 0.64; 95%CI = 0.44–0.94), whereas caregivers who had heard of the CCVI had a significantly higher odds of doubts on vaccination (AOR = 1.61; 95%CI = 1.05–2.45). Confidence in the vaccine delivery system and government were associated with a lower odds of vaccine hesitancy. Caregivers with higher education and Buddhism or other religions were significantly more hesitant to vaccinate their children.
Vaccine hesitancy was prevalent following the CCVI. Over half the caregivers either accepted childhood vaccination with doubts or delayed vaccines; only a small number were active refusers. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy, especially following vaccine incidents. Tailored communications are needed to reduce vaccine hesitancy, especially among the highly educated and Buddhist caregivers.
Although numerous studies have supported an association between dispositional mindfulness and individuals' mental health, the mechanism on how mindfulness exerts its effect is still unclear. This ...study aimed to examine decentering and self-acceptance as two potential mediating variables between college students' dispositional mindfulness and mental health.
Participants were 231 college students (female = 68%, M
age
= 18.54) from Hong Kong, China. They completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, General Health Questionnaire, scales of Decentering and Self-acceptance.
Dispositional mindfulness was negatively related to mental health problems, and this relationship was significantly mediated by both decentering and self-acceptance. These two mediating variables accounted for 28% variance of mental health problems. In addition, the indirect effect with decentering as mediating variable minus the indirect effect with self-acceptance as mediating variable was significant. This result indicated that self-acceptance contributed more than decentering to the indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on mental health.
This research shed light upon the mechanism underlying mindfulness and mental health among college students and highlighted the needs to consider the important roles of self-acceptance and decentering in the effect of mindfulness when predicting college students' mental health.
Effective treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are available and can lead to remission for some patients, but most patients remain on potentially toxic and expensive medications in the long term. ...Interest is increasingly turning to the disease phases preceding the development of RA that represent opportunities for preventive interventions. At-risk target populations include individuals with genetic and environmental risk factors, those who have developed systemic autoimmunity, and those who have developed clinically suspect symptoms (eg, arthralgias without synovitis, or an early arthritis). Ongoing prospective studies will inform the development of increasingly accurate predictive tools to identify individuals at risk of developing RA. Furthermore, a range of preventive approaches has been suggested, including lifestyle modification (eg, smoking cessation) and pharmacologic interventions (eg, hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, abatacept, rituximab) that are currently the subject of randomized controlled trials. As prediction and prevention of RA evolve, it is increasingly likely that individuals at risk (including asymptomatic individuals) may be faced with complex decisions about whether to accept assessment of their risk status or to take a preventive intervention associated with risk of serious adverse events and uncertain benefit. Acceptance of preventive medication in other contexts can be low. For example, <25% of women at high risk of breast cancer are willing to take preventive hormonal treatments. Actual uptake is lower still. Patients’ beliefs and preferences predict treatment uptake and adherence. Before the dream of preventing RA can become reality, health care providers need to understand the perspectives of individuals in the target population and to identify barriers and facilitators for this approach. This commentary reviews what is currently known about the perspectives of patients and individuals at risk about predictive and preventive approaches for RA and identifies gaps to be addressed to inform the development of efficient preventive strategies.
Recent progress in the field of wildlife disease ecology demonstrates that infectious disease plays a crucial role in the lives of wild animals. Parasites and pathogens should be especially important ...for social animals in which high contact among individuals increases the potential for disease spread. As one of the best studied mammalian groups, primates offer a unique opportunity to examine how complex behaviours (including social organization) influence the risk of acquiring infectious diseases, and the defences used by animals to avoid infection. This book explores the correlates of disease risk in primates, including not only social and mating behaviour but also diet, habitat use, life history, geography and phylogeny. The authors examine how a core set of host and parasite traits influence patterns of parasitism at three levels of biological organization: among individuals, among populations, and across species. A major goal is to synthesize, for the first time, four disparate areas of research: primate behavioural ecology, parasite biology, wildlife epidemiology, and the behavioural and immune defences employed by animals to counter infectious disease. Throughout, the authors provide an overview of the remarkable diversity of infectious agents found in wild primate populations. Additional chapters consider how knowledge of infectious diseases in wild primates can inform efforts focused on primate conservation and human health. More generally, this book identifies infectious disease as an important frontier in our understanding of primate behaviour and ecology. It highlights future challenges for testing the links between host and parasite traits, including hypotheses for the effects of disease on primate social and mating systems.
Procedural fairness theory posits that the way in which authoritative decisions are made strongly impacts people’s willingness to accept them. This article challenges this claim by contending that ...democratic governments can achieve little in terms of acceptance of policy decisions by the procedural means at their disposal. Instead, outcome favorability is the dominant determinant of decision acceptance. The article explicates that while central parts of procedural fairness theory are true, outcome favorability is still overwhelmingly the strongest determinant of individuals’ willingness to accept authoritative decisions. It improves on previous research by locating all key variables into one causal model and testing this model using appropriate data. Findings from a large number of experiments (both vignette and field) reproduce the expected relationships from previous research and support the additional predictions.
Evidence of digital interventions that are efficacious among low-income populations is scarce. In a secondary analysis, we determined the efficacy and utilization of an Acceptance and Commitment ...Therapy (ACT)-based smartphone application (iCanQuit) versus a U.S. Clinical Practice Guidelines (USCPG)-based smartphone application (QuitGuide) for smoking cessation in low-income adults enrolled in the iCanQuit randomized trial.
Participants were randomized to receive iCanQuit (n = 437) or QuitGuide (n = 460) for 12-months. Consistent with the main trial, the primary outcome was self-reported complete-case 30-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) at 12-months. Secondary outcomes were 7-day PPA, missing-as-smoking and multiple imputation, prolonged abstinence, and cessation of all tobacco products at 12-months. Outcome data retention, utilization, and change in ACT-based processes were compared across arms.
Participants were recruited from 48 U.S. states. Retention rate was 88% at 12-months and did not differ by arm. At 12-months, iCanQuit was 1.46 times more efficacious than QuitGuide for smoking cessation (27% vs. 20%; OR=1.46 95% CI: 1.04, 2.06). Findings were similar for missing-as-smoking imputation (23% vs. 18%; OR=1.41 95% CI: 1.01, 1.97) and multiple imputation at 12-months (27% vs. 20%; OR=1.51 95% CI: 1.07, 2.14). Treatment utilization was significantly higher among iCanQuit than QuitGuide participants. Increased acceptance of cues to smoke mediated the effect of treatment on cessation.
The iCanQuit smartphone application was more efficacious and engaging for smoking cessation among low-income adults than a USCPG-based smartphone application. A nationwide dissemination trial of iCanQuit is warranted to determine whether iCanQuit may alleviate cessation-related disparities among low-income adults.
•Smartphone interventions can reduce smoking disparities in low-income adults.•iCanQuit was more efficacious than QuitGuide for cessation in low-income adults.•iCanQuit application was more engaging than QuitGuide in low-income adults.•Acceptance of cues to smoke mediated the effect of treatment on smoking cessation.
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