Determinants of E-Payment System Adoption in Public Hospitals: A Study of North Western Nigeria

The objective of this study is to examine the determinant factors of e-payment system adoption in public hospitals with reference to not-west region. The study focused on three categories of federal hospitals (Federal University Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centers and Federal Specialist Hospitals) in northwestern Nigeria. The study adopted cross-sectional survey research design and gathered primary data using questionnaire. The population of the study is 536 e-payment users of the 15 federal hospitals of the states in north-west region where Taro Yamane formula was employed to arrive at 229 sample size. The sampling technique used was Cluster sampling and the collected data was analyzed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). It was found that human factors, organizational factors, technological factors and user trust have significant positive effect on e-payment adoption among public hospitals in northwestern Nigeria. On the other hand, environmental factors has insignificant relationship with e-payment adoption of public hospitals in northwestern region. Based on the findings, it was recommended that hospital administration should prioritize continuous training and digital literacy programs for healthcare staff. Secondly, the Federal Ministry of Finance is recommended to develop policies that require all public hospitals to establish dedicated ICT and digital payment units so as to enhance the efficiency of the electronic payment process. Furthermore, there is need for hospitals to invest in robust technological infrastructures by upgrading internet connectivity, power supply and implement cyber-security policies to protect patients and financial transaction data. Finally, government should collaborate with industry stakeholders and healthcare providers to streamline the regulatory requirements and remove any barrier to the payment system adoption among public health institutions.