Iranian healthcare professionals’ perspectives about factors influencing the use of telemedicine in diabetes management

AIM: To identify factors influencing the use of telemedicine in diabetes management from the perspectives of healthcare professionals. METHODS: This was a quantitative study that was conducted in 2016. The participants were 240 nurses and 55 physicians from three teaching hospitals as well as from one endocrinology and metabolism research center. No sampling method was used and the data were collected by using a five-point (1 to 5) Likert scale questionnaire, which had 37 questions. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Mann-Whitney U test) were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The findings showed that both physicians (4.06 ± 0.69) and nurses (4.02 ± 0.61) tended to use telemedicine technology for managing diabetes. Overall, the lowest mean value for physicians (3.79 ± 0.82) was related to the compatibility of telemedicine with other clinical activities in diabetes management. For nurses, the lowest mean value pertained to the usefulness of telemedicine in diabetes management (3.99 ± 0.53) and their attitude toward using this technology (3.99 ±0.65). CONCLUSION: Although physicians and nurses agreed on using telemedicine technology in diabetes management, it is necessary to consider their concerns prior to the implementation and deployment of new technologies. This approach will help to improve the level of technology acceptance among the users.