Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has created a devastating effect on public health. As “social distance” is a highly effective preventive measure of this pandemic, close contact between a patient and physician is strongly discouraged where possible. Consequently, mobile health (mHealth) technology is taking its momentum to fulfil this gap. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to empirically investigate the moderating as well as the direct role of situational constraint and health consciousness in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) constructs to understand the adoption and use behavior of mHealth care services amid pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from existing mHealth users using an online survey questionnaire in Bangladesh. SmartPLS 3.0 and SPSS 23.0 were used for partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Findings Situational constraint and health consciousness both have strong direct positive effects on both behavioral intention (in all models) and use behavior (in Models 2 and 3). Further, this study revealed that effort expectancy remains insignificant in both direct and interaction effects whereas social influence becomes insignificant in interaction effects from direct significant effect (Models 1 and 2). Besides, the study reported that the relationship between behavioral intention and use behavior is moderated by situational constraint. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first in terms of mHealth empirical investigation considering the current pandemic situation. The incorporation of the situational constraint and health consciousness into the UTAUT model provides a holistic framework to understand the influence of the adoption and use behavior of mHealth amid pandemic.

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On account of slow adoption rate of Wearable Fitness Technology (WFT), the device designers need to comprehend the determinants behind the adoption and use of WFT. Which antecedents affect the intention of WFT wearers remains unclear and a brainteaser for designers, especially in developing countries. This study, therefore, examined the factors liable to influence the WFT users in a developing country using the extended ‘Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology’ (UTAUT2) model and ‘Perceived Reliability’. The desired data for assessment the model was assembled from 260 Bangladeshi respondents using a self-administered questionnaire through online platforms. The Partial-Least-Squares-Structural-Equation-Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was followed by operationalizing SmartPLS 3.3.3 software to test the proposed hypotheses mentioned in the model. The outcomes of the test confirmed that the facilitating conditions and habit are the most influential determinants for intention-to-use and actual use of WFT followed by performance expectancy and facilitating conditions respectively. Contrariwise, effort expectancy was unearthed to have no notable impact on behavioral intention whereas price value showed negative association with intention. The documentation of the findings could benefit WFT vendors and those policymakers who have strong desire to enter in developing countries’ market.