Haimi Motti, Goren Uri, Grossman Zachi
Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Health Administration Department, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Digit Health. 2024 Mar 28;10:20552076241240235. doi: 10.1177/20552076241240235. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.
Although there may still be many challenges to its adoption, telemedicine is becoming more and more popular for helping elderly people preserve their independence and continue to live in their own homes. We intended to investigate the challenges and barriers (if any) experienced by the elderly population when using telemedicine services in Israel.
Fourteen elderly people were recruited for the study and interviewed in person using a semistructured interview protocol, using a qualitative technique. Participants' replies were evaluated and analyzed thematically. The participants were questioned regarding their usage of telehealth services, the benefits they perceive in them, any potential difficulties or hurdles to use, and suggestions they had for making these services more readily available and simpler to use for the elderly.
Most participants recognized the advantages of telehealth services, particularly for the elderly population during pandemics and normal times. However, most of them also expressed various challenges that face the elderly population in using these services. Many participants were concerned that the quality of telemedicine sessions may not be good enough compared to in-person sessions, and expressed a lack of confidence in telemedicine services, and frustration from the absence of in-person interaction and communication. Many participants highlighted the technological challenges in the use of computers and applications in general and in the context of healthcare, in particular, in addition to physiological and literacy difficulties. Finally, the participants suggested several ways to increase the accessibility and usage of telemedicine solutions by elderly people.
A proactive approach to identifying and resolving telehealth barriers can maximize virtual interactions for the older population and alleviate care inequities. In addition to identifying barriers that impede older patients from using telemedicine, there is a need to increase awareness of the availability, benefits, and uses of each telehealth service in comparison to in-person consultations.
尽管远程医疗的应用可能仍面临诸多挑战，但它在帮助老年人保持独立并继续居家生活方面正变得越来越受欢迎。我们旨在调查以色列老年人群体在使用远程医疗服务时所经历的挑战和障碍（若有的话）。
招募了14名老年人参与该研究，并采用定性技术，使用半结构化访谈方案进行面对面访谈。对参与者的回答进行主题评估和分析。询问参与者关于他们使用远程健康服务的情况、他们所感知到的其中的益处、使用中的任何潜在困难或障碍，以及他们对于使这些服务更便于老年人获取和使用的建议。
大多数参与者认识到远程健康服务的优势，尤其是在疫情期间和正常时期对老年人群体而言。然而，他们中的大多数人也表达了老年人群体在使用这些服务时面临的各种挑战。许多参与者担心与面对面就诊相比，远程医疗会诊的质量可能不够好，并对远程医疗服务缺乏信心，且因缺乏面对面的互动和交流而感到沮丧。许多参与者强调了在一般情况下以及在医疗保健背景下使用计算机和应用程序时的技术挑战，特别是生理和文化程度方面的困难。最后，参与者提出了几种提高老年人对远程医疗解决方案的可及性和使用率的方法。
采取积极主动的方法来识别和解决远程健康障碍，可以最大限度地增加老年人群体的虚拟互动，并减轻护理不平等现象。除了识别阻碍老年患者使用远程医疗的障碍外，还需要提高对每种远程健康服务与面对面咨询相比的可及性、益处和用途的认识。
