Fujian Key Laboratory of Environmental Factors and Cancer, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Centre of Population Heath (CePH), Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
J Med Internet Res. 2024 Jul 16;26:e53497. doi: 10.2196/53497.
The COVID-19 pandemic is bringing about substantial changes in health care systems, leading to a significant shift toward telemedicine for the delivery of health care services.
This study aims to examine the relationship between perceived usefulness and ease of use of telemedicine services and their association with the behavioral intention to use telemedicine.
An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted in China. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to determine significant predictors of intention to use telemedicine consultation. Types of illnesses that favored seeking telemedicine consultation, as well as the most preferred platform for conducting telemedicine consultations, were also investigated.
In total, 1006 participants completed the survey. A total of 44.3% (n=446) reported being very likely and 49.3% (n=496) reported being likely to seek telemedicine consultation. Overall, the majority of participants expressed strong agreement or agreement regarding the perceived usefulness of telemedicine. Likewise, the majority indicated strong agreement or agreement when it came to their perception of the ease of using telemedicine. In the partial least squares structural equation modeling, perceived usefulness (β=0.322; P<.001) and perceived ease of use (β=0.118; P=.01) were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of seeking telemedicine consultation. A considerable number of participants expressed willingness to use telemedicine services for various medical conditions, particularly respiratory (n=340, 33.8%), skin (n=316, 31.4%), and musculoskeletal issues (n=316, 31.4%) while showing less interest in seeking telemedicine consultations for reproductive health (n=44, 4.4%) and cancer (n=64, 6.4%). The majority preferred video chat (n=443, 44%) and text chat (n=317, 31.5%) as their most preferred platforms for telemedicine consultation, while a smaller proportion preferred telephone (n=193, 19.2%) and email (n=53, 5.3%).
Telemedicine has the potential to play a larger role in China's health care system. The preferences for certain platforms over others may influence service design and implementation.
COVID-19 大流行正在给医疗系统带来重大变化，导致医疗服务的提供方式向远程医疗显著转变。
本研究旨在探讨远程医疗服务的感知有用性和易用性与其使用远程医疗的意愿之间的关系。
在中国进行了一项匿名横断面调查。使用偏最小二乘结构方程建模来确定使用远程医疗咨询的意图的显著预测因子。还调查了有利于寻求远程医疗咨询的疾病类型以及进行远程医疗咨询的首选平台。
共有 1006 名参与者完成了调查。共有 44.3%（n=446）表示非常有可能，49.3%（n=496）表示有可能寻求远程医疗咨询。总体而言，大多数参与者对远程医疗的感知有用性表示强烈同意或同意。同样，大多数人表示对使用远程医疗的易用性表示强烈同意或同意。在偏最小二乘结构方程建模中，感知有用性（β=0.322；P<.001）和感知易用性（β=0.118；P=.01）与更高的寻求远程医疗咨询的可能性显著相关。相当多的参与者表示愿意使用远程医疗服务治疗各种医疗状况，特别是呼吸道疾病（n=340，33.8%）、皮肤疾病（n=316，31.4%）和肌肉骨骼问题（n=316，31.4%），而对生殖健康（n=44，4.4%）和癌症（n=64，6.4%）的远程医疗咨询意愿较低。大多数人首选视频聊天（n=443，44%）和文本聊天（n=317，31.5%）作为他们最喜爱的远程医疗咨询平台，而较少人选择电话（n=193，19.2%）和电子邮件（n=53，5.3%）。
远程医疗有可能在中国的医疗体系中发挥更大的作用。对某些平台的偏好而不是其他平台的偏好可能会影响服务的设计和实施。
