Sayed Samiha Hamdi, Aldailami Danyah Abdulrahman, Abd El Aziz Maha Mahmoud, Elsayed Ebtesam Abbas
Public Health Department, College of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh 11673, Saudi Arabia.
Community Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22516, Egypt.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jan 1;13(1):62. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13010062.
: Due to technological advancements, the demand for easily accessible and convenient healthcare services is rising globally. Thus, telehealth is gaining momentum that was previously unheard of. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) actively embraces digital innovation in the healthcare industry through its ambitious Vision 2030 initiative. This study aimed to assess the perceived usability of telehealth for personalized healthcare among the KSA adult population in the post-COVID-19 era. : This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of 975 adults from the general population in KSA. A digital survey was used for data collection through Survey Monkey software. It contained two sections: personal and health data and the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ). The data was collected over three months (July-September 2024) and investigated using the multinomial logistic regression analysis. : This study showed that 59.8% of the participants have initiated telehealth service use before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the most frequently used services are the issuance of sick leave (30.6%), tele-prescription (29.0%), virtual consultation (20.0%), tele-mental health services (19.4%), telemonitoring (18.6), and tele-referral (18.2%). A high total telehealth usability score was observed among 60.4% of the participants: 72.7% perceive telehealth as highly useful, 76.4% perceive it as easy to use, 60.1% have high satisfaction and intention for future use, 57.4% perceive high interface quality, and 51.8% perceive a high interaction quality. Conversely, 45.8% perceive low reliability of the telehealth system. Multinomial logistic regression showed that low education (AOR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.16-4.85) and using virtual consultation (AOR = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.38-0.99) were predictors of low telehealth usability. However, being female (AOR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.27-2.55), being in higher education (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.02-2.34), and living in the central KSA region (AOR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.10-2.23) were predictors of high telehealth usability. Working status, income, and presence of chronic disease were not statistically significant predictors. : Telehealth services have been highly usable in KSA even before the COVID-19 pandemic, with commonly used asynchronous services. Many social, technological, and system-related factors could affect the user experience and system reliability. Hence, telehealth developments are recommended to overcome such barriers, with future initiatives focusing on the flexibility and convenience of telehealth systems.
由于技术进步，全球范围内对易于获取和便捷的医疗服务的需求正在上升。因此，远程医疗正获得前所未有的发展势头。沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）通过其雄心勃勃的2030年愿景倡议，积极在医疗行业拥抱数字创新。本研究旨在评估后新冠疫情时代沙特阿拉伯成年人群体中远程医疗用于个性化医疗的感知可用性。：本横断面研究使用了来自沙特阿拉伯普通人群的975名成年人的便利样本。通过Survey Monkey软件进行数字调查以收集数据。它包含两个部分：个人和健康数据以及远程医疗可用性问卷（TUQ）。数据收集历时三个月（2024年7月至9月），并使用多项逻辑回归分析进行调查。：本研究表明，59.8%的参与者在新冠疫情大流行之前就已开始使用远程医疗服务，最常使用的服务是病假开具（30.6%）、电子处方（29.0%）、虚拟会诊（20.0%）、远程心理健康服务（19.4%）、远程监测（18.6%）和远程转诊（18.2%）。60.4%的参与者的远程医疗可用性总得分较高：72.7%的人认为远程医疗非常有用，76.4%的人认为其易于使用，60.1%的人有较高的满意度和未来使用意愿，57.4%的人认为界面质量高，51.8%的人认为交互质量高。相反，45.8%的人认为远程医疗系统的可靠性低。多项逻辑回归显示，低教育程度（AOR = 2.04；95% CI = 1.16 - 4.85）和使用虚拟会诊（AOR = 0.98；95% CI = 0.38 - 0.99）是远程医疗可用性低的预测因素。然而，女性（AOR = 1.67；95% CI = 1.27 - 2.55）、高等教育程度（AOR = 1.47；95% CI = 1.02 - 2.34）以及居住在沙特阿拉伯中部地区（AOR = 1.37；95% CI = 1.10 - 2.23）是远程医疗可用性高的预测因素。工作状态、收入和慢性病的存在不是具有统计学意义的预测因素。：即使在新冠疫情大流行之前，远程医疗服务在沙特阿拉伯也具有很高的可用性，常用的是异步服务。许多社会、技术和系统相关因素可能会影响用户体验和系统可靠性。因此，建议发展远程医疗以克服此类障碍，未来的举措应侧重于远程医疗系统的灵活性和便利性。
