Norouzi Aval Reyhaneh, Kimiafar Khalil, Sarbaz Masoumeh, Baigi Seyyedeh Fatemeh Mousavi
Department of Health Information Technology, School of Paramedical and Rehabilitation Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Pardis Daneshgah, Azadi Square, Mashhad, Iran.
BMC Med Educ. 2025 Jul 22;25(1):1098. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07712-8.
Telehealth refers to the use of telecommunication technologies to deliver healthcare services, provider and patient education, and information. Paramedical students' perspectives are key, as their readiness affects the future success of telehealth in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes and experiences of paramedical students toward telehealth.
This cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted from October 2024 to February 2025. Data were collected using a previously validated questionnaire developed by Rettinger et al. (2024). The questionnaire consisted of 18 items that addressed demographic information, respondents' ICT competence, interest in telehealth, perceived knowledge, the importance and applications of telehealth, previous telehealth experiences, and three open-ended questions exploring students' perspectives on telehealth. The questionnaire was administered online. A survey link was emailed to eligible students who had expressed interest in participating. Completing the survey took approximately 15 min. To ensure validity, the face validity of the questionnaire was reviewed by five faculty members. Reliability was evaluated through the test-retest method over a 10-day interval, yielding a Cronbach's alpha of 0.78. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.
A total of 132 students responded to the survey (response rate: 100%). 72.7% of the students were very or relatively interested in telehealth. 77.3% considered telehealth important during their studies. However, only 11.4% reported actual experience with telehealth programs in their field. The Kruskal-Wallis H test showed significant differences across education levels in terms of perceived knowledge (P = 0.014) and perceived importance of telehealth in education (P = 0.042).
Despite high levels of interest and generally positive attitudes, students reported limited experience and exposure of telehealth. These findings highlight the importance of integrating telehealth education into paramedical training.
远程医疗是指利用电信技术提供医疗服务、医护人员与患者教育以及信息。辅助医疗专业学生的观点至关重要，因为他们的准备情况会影响远程医疗在临床实践中的未来成效。因此，本研究旨在调查辅助医疗专业学生对远程医疗的态度和经历。
本横断面定量研究于2024年10月至2025年2月进行。数据通过Rettinger等人（2024年）之前验证过的问卷收集。问卷包含18个项目，涉及人口统计学信息、受访者的信息通信技术能力、对远程医疗的兴趣、感知知识、远程医疗的重要性及应用、以往远程医疗经历，以及三个开放式问题，以探究学生对远程医疗的看法。问卷通过在线方式发放。向表示有兴趣参与的符合条件的学生发送了调查链接。完成调查大约需要15分钟。为确保有效性，由五名教员对问卷的表面效度进行了审查。通过重测法在10天间隔内评估信度，得出Cronbach's alpha系数为0.78。使用SPSS 16版软件对数据进行分析。
共有132名学生回复了调查（回复率：100%）。72.7%的学生对远程医疗非常感兴趣或比较感兴趣。77.3%的学生认为远程医疗在他们的学习过程中很重要。然而，只有11.4%的学生报告在其专业领域有过远程医疗项目的实际经历。Kruskal-Wallis H检验显示，在感知知识（P = 0.014）和远程医疗在教育中的感知重要性方面（P = 0.042），不同教育水平之间存在显著差异。
尽管学生兴趣浓厚且态度普遍积极，但他们报告的远程医疗经历有限。这些发现凸显了将远程医疗教育纳入辅助医疗培训的重要性。
