Perception of Healthcare Providers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Method Survey in an Integrated Healthcare Delivery System in Saudi Arabia

Ali Faris Alamri, Fahad Khamees Alomari, Amir Moustafa Danash, Maram Talal Aljoudi, Asmahan Issa Almasharqa, Ahmed Metwally Almasloot, Reem M. Alwhaibi, Mohamed Mossad Hasan and Uzma Zaidi ()
Additional contact information
Ali Faris Alamri: King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 13415, Saudi Arabia
Fahad Khamees Alomari: Prince Sultan Military Hospital, Taif 1087, Saudi Arabia
Amir Moustafa Danash: Prince Sultan Military Hospital, Taif 1087, Saudi Arabia
Maram Talal Aljoudi: Prince Sultan Military Hospital, Taif 1087, Saudi Arabia
Asmahan Issa Almasharqa: Prince Sultan Military Hospital, Taif 1087, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Metwally Almasloot: Lincoln County Hospital, Lincolnshire NG318UJ, UK
Reem M. Alwhaibi: Rehabilitation Sciences Department, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 13415, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Mossad Hasan: Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60645, USA
Uzma Zaidi: Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 13415, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-10

Abstract: 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 ( N = 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, p = 0.05). In addition, the regression analysis indicated that perceived usefulness and perceived ease are predictors of the behavioral intention (R 2 = 0.777, F (2,152) = 261.76, p = 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.

Keywords: telemedicine; tele-clinics; perception of use; perception of ease of use; behavioral intention; adoption; survey; COVID-19; Saudi Arabia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16676/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16676/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16676-:d:1000734

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().