The Unbearable Weight of Health-Related Psychological Drivers?: Integrated HBM and UTAUT Analysis of Smart Ring Adoption Intention (참을 수 없는 건강 심리의 무거움?: 스마트링 수용의도에 대한 건강신념모형과 통합기술수용이론 통합모형)

Wooseung Park (박우승); Yuri Cha (차유리); Jaehee Cho (조재희)

doi:10.24172/hcr.2025.24.3.83

The Unbearable Weight of Health-Related Psychological Drivers?: Integrated HBM and UTAUT Analysis of Smart Ring Adoption Intention

Health Communication Research
2025, 24(3), pp.83~127
DOI : 10.24172/hcr.2025.24.3.83
Publisher : Korea Health Communication Association
Research Area : Social Science > Journalism and Broadcasting > Communication
Received : October 13, 2025
Accepted : December 12, 2025
Published : December 31, 2025

Wooseung Park ¹, Yuri Cha ¹, Jaehee Cho ¹

¹서강대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying individuals’ intentions to adopt smart rings for preventing and managing lifestyle-related diseases. By integrating the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the research investigates how health beliefs— health consciousness, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility—influence adoption intention through performance expectancy, conceptualized across health and convenience dimensions. An online survey was administered to 504 South Korean adults, and the model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results reveal that perceived severity and susceptibility positively predict adoption intention, with health-related performance expectancy serving as a key mediator. In contrast, convenience-related performance expectancy did not significantly affect intention, suggesting users view smart rings' utilitarian functions as redundant given existing devices like smartphones. Health consciousness enhanced perceived susceptibility but had no direct effect on intention. Regarding UTAUT constructs, facilitating conditions and social influence significantly predicted intention, whereas effort expectancy influenced performance expectancies but failed to directly predict adoption. These findings provide empirical support for an integrative model bridging health psychology and technology acceptance. Theoretically, the study clarifies how health beliefs interact with technological cognitions to shape adoption behavior for wearable healthcare technologies. Practically, the results suggest that marketing strategies should emphasize the health-oriented value proposition of smart rings rather than convenience functionalities to enhance user engagement and market diffusion.

KEYWORDS

wearable healthcare technology, smart ring, Health Belief Model (HBM), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Mediation effect

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* References for papers published after 2025 are currently being built.

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.

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Health Communication Research 2025 KCI Impact Factor : 0.31

The Unbearable Weight of Health-Related Psychological Drivers?: Integrated HBM and UTAUT Analysis of Smart Ring Adoption Intention

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Health Communication Research 2025 KCI Impact Factor : 0.31

The Unbearable Weight of Health-Related Psychological Drivers?: Integrated HBM and UTAUT Analysis of Smart Ring Adoption Intention

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