Willingness to use eHealth and associated factors Among Disabled Students in Higher Education Institutions in Debre Markos city 2025

Abstract Background eHealth technologies offer a way to improve healthcare access for students with impairments at higher academic institutes particularly in low-income areas like Ethiopia. However the willingness of students in these to use eHealth and the factors that influence willingness of students to use the platforms has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Objective The aim of this study is examine the willingness of disabled students at higher academic institutes in Debre Markos city to use eHealth and the factors influencing their willingness. Method Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2024 to January 2025 among disabled students at higher academic institutes in Debre Markos city. Multi-stage stratified sampled technique was used. Data were collected using structured interviewers administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics were computed to represent the characteristics of study participants and binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with willingness of students to use eHealth. Result Among the total study participants approached (168), 61.9% were willing to use eHealth service and mentioned mobile health and telemedicine as preferred platforms. Factors including but not limited to smartphone ownership (AOR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.3–7.5, p = 0.01), previous knowledge about eHealth (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1-3.6, p = 0.001), Favorable attitude (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1–6.5, p = 0.002), Availability of internet (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.2–5.2, p = 0.015), and perceived ease of use (AOR = 4.2, 95% CI: 2.24–7.81, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with willingness. Conclusion Despite most of the study participants were aware of eHealth; the willingness level was moderate.. Prior knowledge about eHealth, attitude, internet accessibility and perceived ease of use were the factors associated with willingness to use eHealth services. Academic institutions may improve willingness level by offering training courses that could boost awareness and knowledge about eHealth potentials in improving health service access, integrating eHealth with assistive technology, and designing disability friendly platforms.