King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 13415, Saudi Arabia.
Prince Sultan Military Hospital, Taif 1087, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 12;19(24):16676. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416676.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine was broadly adopted for patient care. Considering this experience, it is crucial to understand the perceptions of teleclinic healthcare professionals. In Saudi Arabia, telemedicine literature was restricted to physicians working in government and private hospitals. This study examined perceptions in relation to telemedicine among physicians and other healthcare professionals practicing in Saudi Arabian military hospitals in the Taif region. During COVID-19, telemedicine was implemented in military hospitals; consequently, this study assists in evaluating introduced practices and the perceptions of health professionals regarding these new practices. A quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was undertaken on healthcare professionals ( = 153). Twenty (20) items based on standardized measures were used to collect data using an online questionnaire. The measures contained three subscales: perceived usefulness, perceived ease, and behavioral intention. It was hypothesized that the perception of teleclinic usefulness and ease score by healthcare providers would be significantly correlated with behavioral intention. Descriptive statistics for mean, frequency, and standard deviation, as well as a Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis, were conducted to assess the relationship and predictive association between variables. In addition, a focus group discussion was organized to collect information directly from healthcare professionals. Most of the participants were approximately 40 years of age, Saudi Nationals (63%), medical specialists (62%), and were involved in teleclinic practices before the COVID-19 pandemic (60%). The reliability of all three scales was determined to be acceptable (α = 0.75-0.91). Perceived usefulness and perceived ease were shown to be significantly correlated with behavioral intention (r = 0.877, = 0.05). In addition, the regression analysis indicated that perceived usefulness and perceived ease are predictors of the behavioral intention (R = 0.777, F (2,152) = 261.76, = 0.001) of teleclinic practices among healthcare professionals. The positive perception of telemedicine integration in healthcare systems revealed by this study is a major catalyst for continuous adoption. On the other hand, certified telemedicine platforms, on-the-job training, Internet of things, and a flexible approach are required to find opportunities and enhancements in telemedicine interactions.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，远程医疗被广泛应用于患者护理。考虑到这一经验，了解远程诊所医疗保健专业人员的看法至关重要。在沙特阿拉伯，远程医疗文献仅限于在政府和私营医院工作的医生。本研究考察了沙特阿拉伯塔伊夫地区军事医院的医生和其他医疗保健专业人员对远程医疗的看法。在 COVID-19 期间，远程医疗在军事医院实施；因此，本研究有助于评估引入的实践以及卫生专业人员对这些新实践的看法。对医疗保健专业人员（n=153）进行了定量、描述性、相关性和横断面研究。使用在线问卷，基于标准化措施的 20 个项目用于收集数据。这些措施包含三个分量表：感知有用性、感知易用性和行为意图。假设医疗保健提供者对远程诊所有用性和易用性评分的看法将与行为意图显著相关。进行了描述性统计，包括均值、频率和标准差，以及 Pearson 相关系数和回归分析，以评估变量之间的关系和预测关联。此外，还组织了焦点小组讨论，直接从医疗保健专业人员那里收集信息。大多数参与者的年龄约为 40 岁，沙特国民（63%），医学专家（62%），并且在 COVID-19 大流行之前参与过远程诊所实践（60%）。所有三个量表的可靠性都被确定为可接受（α=0.75-0.91）。感知有用性和感知易用性与行为意图显著相关（r=0.877，p=0.05）。此外，回归分析表明，感知有用性和感知易用性是医疗保健专业人员远程诊所实践行为意图的预测因素（R=0.777，F（2,152）=261.76，p=0.001）。本研究揭示了医疗保健系统中远程医疗整合的积极看法，这是持续采用的主要催化剂。另一方面，需要经过认证的远程医疗平台、在职培训、物联网和灵活的方法，以在远程医疗互动中寻找机会和改进。
