| Concerns related to the protection of personal identification information, graphic user interface, patient privacy, and consumer acceptance, to name a few, have plagued the implementation of telemedicine. Advocates of telemedicine have gained the interests of consumers but failed to recognize the true nature of consumer attitudes towards the use of telemedicine. This research was a significant step towards understanding consumer unwillingness to use telemedicine. Understanding and acknowledging what customers feel is detrimental to improving the telemedicine implementation process. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore consumers who may have experienced cognitive dissonance between their interest and the use of wireless body area networks. The interpretative phenomenological method was employed to understand and contribute knowledge about the phenomenon. The research participants were randomly selected patients, physicians, nurses, paramedics, and healthcare professionals. The findings contribute to knowledge by exposing the relevance of understanding cognitive dissonance, and its underrated affiliations. Such alliances play a meaningful role when embracing or rejecting the use of telemedicine. Future research may consider aligning and employing use behavioral models, such as the social cognitive theory, or the social capital theory, to help increase knowledge and understanding of consumer cognitive dissonance towards the use of telemedicine Advocates planning to implement telemedicine in rural areas could use these findings to help diminish or subdue indigenous consumer anxiety towards the use of telemedicine. |
