Effects of Internet Hospital Consultations on Psychological Burdens and Disease Knowledge During the Early Outbreak of COVID-19 in China: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global threat to human health. Internet hospitals have emerged as a critical technology to bring epidemic-related web-based services and medical support to the public. However, only a few very recent scientific literature reports have explored the effects of internet hospitals on psychological burden and disease knowledge in major public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the role of internet hospitals in relieving psychological burden and increasing disease knowledge during the early outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This survey was conducted from January 26 to February 1, 2020, during the early outbreak of COVID-19 in China. The platform used for the consultation was the WeChat public account of our hospital. To participate in the study, the patient was required to answer a list of questions to exclude the possibility of COVID-19 infection and confirm their willingness to participate voluntarily. Next, the participant was directed to complete the self-report questionnaire. After the internet consultation, the participant was directed to complete the self-report questionnaire again. The questionnaire included sections on general information, the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and the participant’s worries, disease knowledge, and need for hospital treatment. RESULTS: The total number of internet consultations was 4120. The consultation topics mainly included respiratory symptoms such as cough, expectoration, and fever (2489/4120, 60.4%) and disease knowledge, anxiety, and fear (1023/4120, 24.8%). A total of 1530 people filled out the questionnaires before and after the internet consultation. Of these people, 1398/1530 (91.4%) experienced psychological stress before the internet consultation, which significantly decreased after consultation (260/1530, 17.0%) (χ(2)(1)=1704.8, P<.001). There was no significant difference in the number of people who expressed concern about the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the internet consultation (χ(2)(1)=0.7, P=.43). However, the degree of concern after the internet consultation was significantly alleviated (t(2699)=90.638, P<.001). The main worries before and after consultation were the dangers posed by the disease and the risk of infection of family members. The scores of the self-assessment risk after the internet consultation were significantly lower than those before consultation (t(3058)=95.694, P<.001). After the consultation, the participants’ knowledge of the symptoms, transmission routes, and preventive measures of COVID-19 was significantly higher than before the consultation (t(3058)=–106.105, –80.456, and –152.605, respectively; all P<.001). The hospital treatment need score after the internet consultation decreased from 3.3 (SD 1.2) to 1.6 (SD 0.8), and the difference was statistically significant (t(3058)=45.765, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: During the early outbreak of COVID-19, internet hospitals could help relieve psychological burdens and increase disease awareness through timely and rapid spread of knowledge regarding COVID-19 prevention and control. Internet hospitals should be an important aspect of a new medical model in public health emergency systems.