Assessing professionals' adoption readiness for emental health:Development and validation of the emental health adoption readiness scale

Background: Over the last decades, significant advances have been made in the development of digital tools and applications for mental healthcare. Yet, despite growing evidence for their effectiveness, their acceptance and use in clinical practice remain low. To gain further insights in the process of eMental Health adoption and to facilitate future research on this topic, a validated and easy-to-use instrument to assess professionals' readiness to adopt eMental Health is necessary. Objective: The aim of this study was to develop and validate an instrument for assessing mental healthcare professionals' adoption readiness for eMental Health.Methods: Item generation was guided by literature and input from mental healthcare professionals and experts in survey development. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on an initial set of 29 items completed by a sample of mental healthcare professionals (N = 432), after which the scale was reduced to 15 items in an iterative process. The factor structure thus obtained was subsequently tested with a confirmatory factor analysis with a second sample of mental healthcare professionals (N = 363). Internal consistency, convergent validity and predictive validity of the eMHAR Scale were assessed. Results: Exploratory factor analyses resulted in a three-factor solution with 15 items. The factors were analyzed and labeled as ‘perceived benefits and applicability of EMH’, ‘EMH proactive innovation’, and ‘EMH self-efficacy’. These factors were confirmed through a confirmatory factor analysis. The total scale and subscales showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.73-0.88) and acceptable convergent and predictive relations to related constructs. Conclusions: The constructed eMHAR Scale showed a conceptually interpretable three-factor structure with satisfactory characteristics and relationships with relevant concepts. Its ease of use allows for a quick acquisition of data that can contribute to understanding and facilitating the process of adoption of eMental Health by clinical professionals.