Knowledge, Applicability, and Barriers of Telemedicine in Egypt: A National Survey.

IF 3.1 Q2 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES

International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications Pub Date : 2021-06-09 eCollection Date: 2021-01-01 DOI:10.1155/2021/5565652

Mohamed Alboraie, Mahmoud Abdelrashed Allam, Naglaa Youssef, Mohammad Abdalgaber, Fathiya El-Raey, Nermeen Abdeen, Reem Ezzat Mahdy, Omar Elshaarawy, Ahmed Elgebaly, Tamer Haydara, Sherief Abd-Elsalam, Yusuf Abdullah Nassar, Hosam Shabana, Samy Zaky

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引用次数: 26

Abstract

Objectives: The study is aimed at evaluating knowledge, attitude, and barriers to telemedicine among the general population in Egypt.

Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional design was carried out among the general Egyptian population. A convenience sampling method was used to approach the eligible participants from University Teaching Hospitals of eight governorates from May to July 2020.

Results: A total of 686 participants filled the questionnaire (49.4% were males, mean age 36.7 ± 11.2 years old). Half of the participants stated that they previously used a telemedicine tool, mainly to follow up laboratory results (67.3%). Video or phone calls (39.3%) and mobile applications (23.7%) were the most commonly recognized telemedicine tools by the participants. The included participants exhibited a high level of knowledge and attitude towards telemedicine. On the other hand, 21.9% stated that telemedicine services could jeopardize patient privacy. 32.8% reported that telemedicine service could lead to disclosing medical information to people who are not authorized to do so. Almost half of the participants agreed to strongly agreed that telemedicine service could increase medical errors. 60.80% of the participants said that they are more likely to prefer telemedicine than traditional ways. However, 13.70% stated that telemedicine is more likely to be challenging to use.

Conclusion: The Egyptian population has high knowledge about the applications of telemedicine. In addition, the vast majority of Egyptians appear to perceive the benefits of telemedicine positively and are willing to use it. However, some barriers that have been found must be taken into consideration to adopt telemedicine successfully, especially for people who are old, are low educated, and live in remote areas. Future studies should address the utility of telemedicine in improving the quality of healthcare and patient's health outcome and quality of life.

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埃及远程医疗的知识、适用性和障碍:一项全国调查。

目的:该研究旨在评估埃及普通人群对远程医疗的知识、态度和障碍。方法:以问卷为基础的横断面设计在埃及普通人群中进行。采用便利抽样方法，于2020年5月至7月对8个省的大学教学医院的符合条件的参与者进行调查。结果:共686人填写问卷，其中男性49.4%，平均年龄36.7±11.2岁。一半的参与者表示，他们以前使用远程医疗工具，主要是为了跟踪实验室结果(67.3%)。视频或电话通话(39.3%)和移动应用程序(23.7%)是参与者最普遍认可的远程医疗工具。受访者对远程医疗的认识和态度均较高。另一方面，21.9%的人表示远程医疗服务可能会危及患者隐私。32.8%的人报告说，远程医疗服务可能导致向未经授权的人披露医疗信息。几乎一半的参与者强烈同意远程医疗服务可能会增加医疗差错。60.80%的受访者表示，与传统方式相比，他们更倾向于远程医疗。然而，13.70%的受访者表示远程医疗的使用可能更具挑战性。结论:埃及人群对远程医疗应用的认知程度较高。此外，绝大多数埃及人似乎积极地认识到远程医疗的好处，并愿意使用它。然而，要成功地采用远程医疗，必须考虑到已经发现的一些障碍，特别是对于老年人、受教育程度低的人以及生活在偏远地区的人。未来的研究应探讨远程医疗在改善医疗保健质量、患者健康结果和生活质量方面的效用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES-

CiteScore

6.90

自引率

2.30%

发文量

审稿时长

12 weeks

期刊介绍： The overall aim of the International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications is to bring together science and applications of medical practice and medical care at a distance as well as their supporting technologies such as, computing, communications, and networking technologies with emphasis on telemedicine techniques and telemedicine applications. It is directed at practicing engineers, academic researchers, as well as doctors, nurses, etc. Telemedicine is an information technology that enables doctors to perform medical consultations, diagnoses, and treatments, as well as medical education, away from patients. For example, doctors can remotely examine patients via remote viewing monitors and sound devices, and/or sampling physiological data using telecommunication. Telemedicine technology is applied to areas of emergency healthcare, videoconsulting, telecardiology, telepathology, teledermatology, teleophthalmology, teleoncology, telepsychiatry, teledentistry, etc. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications will highlight the continued growth and new challenges in telemedicine, applications, and their supporting technologies, for both application development and basic research. Papers should emphasize original results or case studies relating to the theory and/or applications of telemedicine. Tutorial papers, especially those emphasizing multidisciplinary views of telemedicine, are also welcome. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications employs a paperless, electronic submission and evaluation system to promote a rapid turnaround in the peer-review process.