Health Information Management and Technology Department, College of Public Health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Front Public Health. 2022 Jun 30;10:896546. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.896546. eCollection 2022.
Over the last decade, the use of digital technology has increased immeasurably and transformed both our personal and professional lives. The medical profession quickly embraced this development, especially after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical consultations were transitioned to online settings as a substitute for face-to-face consultations. This exponential acceleration of the use of remote online consultations (e-consultations) was deemed necessary to respond to the impact of the global pandemic. This study identifies the factors that influence actual patient use and the intention to use e-consultations in Saudi Arabia.
A cross-sectional survey was distributed online via social media platforms targeting the population living in Saudi Arabia from August to December 2020. The questionnaire measured patient perceptions of and attitudes toward utilizing e-consultations using a validated questionnaire informed by the technology acceptance model (TAM). Analyses were performed in SPSS to identify the external factors that influence patients' actual use of e-consultations and to assess the TAM factors (usefulness, social influence, and ease of use) that influence the intention to use e-consultations across both actual users and never-users.
A total of 150 participants completed the questionnaire; the average age was 38 years old, 85% of the participants were females, and 67% reported never using e-consultations. Additionally, motivation, trust, attitude, and social influence were significantly related to participants' intention to use e-consultations.
Participants' trust in and perception of the usefulness of e-consultations were significant factors in their intention to use e-consultation services. Policymakers' attention to those factors could play a role in increasing public acceptance and the use of e-consultations to improve distance medical care.
在过去的十年中，数字技术的使用呈指数级增长，极大地改变了我们的个人和职业生活。医学界迅速接受了这一发展，尤其是在 COVID-19 大流行之后。医疗咨询已经从面对面咨询转变为在线咨询。为了应对全球大流行的影响，远程在线咨询（电子咨询）的使用呈指数级加速。本研究旨在确定影响沙特阿拉伯实际患者使用和使用电子咨询意愿的因素。
本研究于 2020 年 8 月至 12 月通过社交媒体平台在线分发了一项横断面调查，对象是居住在沙特阿拉伯的人群。该问卷使用基于技术接受模型（TAM）的经过验证的问卷来衡量患者对电子咨询的使用感知和态度。使用 SPSS 进行分析，以确定影响患者实际使用电子咨询的外部因素，并评估 TAM 因素（有用性、社会影响和易用性）对实际使用者和从未使用者使用电子咨询意愿的影响。
共有 150 名参与者完成了问卷；平均年龄为 38 岁，85%的参与者为女性，67%的参与者表示从未使用过电子咨询。此外，动机、信任、态度和社会影响与参与者使用电子咨询的意愿显著相关。
参与者对电子咨询的信任度和有用性的认知是他们使用电子咨询服务意愿的重要因素。政策制定者关注这些因素可能有助于提高公众对电子咨询的接受度和使用率，以改善远程医疗。
