The moderating effect of economic development levels on the adoption of eNutrition technologies in medical education: A multinational survey across six Asian countries

Objective: The aim was to explore the adoptive behaviors of eNutrition among students and nutrition professionals through a cross-country survey in six Asian countries. Methods: University students and nutrition professionals were recruited through a convenience sampling approach in high-income countries (HICs; Japan and Taiwan) and middle-income countries (MICs; Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines). A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess the adoption of innovative eNutrition technologies across six domains (perceived self-efficacy, perceived self-interest, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, intention to use, and actual use). The primary outcome was the actual use of eNutrition technologies. Binary and multivariable linear regression interaction terms were created to test the moderating effects of the economic development level on actual use. Results: In total, 992 participants were recruited, with 525 (52.9%) from HICs and 467 (47.1%) from MICs. A total of 34.8% of participants had used innovative eNutrition technologies, predominantly diet-tracking apps (27.02%). Participants from MICs were older, had a higher proportion of nutrition professionals, and had higher scores for perceived self-efficacy, perceived self-interest, perceived usefulness, and intention to use, along with a lower rate of having never used eNutrition technologies (all p < 0.001). An adjusted multivariate analysis showed that perceived usefulness was an independent predictor of actual use in both MICs (β = 0.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11, 0.32; p < 0.001) and HICs (β = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.27; p < 0.001). Economic development levels significantly moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and actual use (β = –0.10; 95% CI: −0.18, –0.01; p_interaction = 0.025), and between intention to use and actual use (β = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.94; p_interaction = 0.015). Conclusions: Economic development levels may moderate the adoption of innovative eNutrition technologies, highlighting the importance of contextual factors in technology adoption.