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Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis

BACKGROUND: Health care systems in transitional countries have witnessed unprecedented challenges related to adequate and continuous health care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many countries, including Libya, institutions and organizations have begun to implement telehealth technology fo...

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Autores principales: Elhadi, Muhammed, Msherghi, Ahmed, Elhadi, Ahmed, Ashini, Aimen, Alsoufi, Ahmed, Bin Alshiteewi, Fatimah, Elmabrouk, Amna, Alsuyihili, Ali, Elgherwi, Alsafa, Elkhafeefi, Fatimah, Abdulrazik, Sarah, Tarek, Ahmed
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7919841/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33606654
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/23335
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author Elhadi, Muhammed
Msherghi, Ahmed
Elhadi, Ahmed
Ashini, Aimen
Alsoufi, Ahmed
Bin Alshiteewi, Fatimah
Elmabrouk, Amna
Alsuyihili, Ali
Elgherwi, Alsafa
Elkhafeefi, Fatimah
Abdulrazik, Sarah
Tarek, Ahmed
author_facet Elhadi, Muhammed
Msherghi, Ahmed
Elhadi, Ahmed
Ashini, Aimen
Alsoufi, Ahmed
Bin Alshiteewi, Fatimah
Elmabrouk, Amna
Alsuyihili, Ali
Elgherwi, Alsafa
Elkhafeefi, Fatimah
Abdulrazik, Sarah
Tarek, Ahmed
author_sort Elhadi, Muhammed
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Health care systems in transitional countries have witnessed unprecedented challenges related to adequate and continuous health care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many countries, including Libya, institutions and organizations have begun to implement telehealth technology for the first time. This serves to establish an alternative modality for direct physician-patient interviews to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the usability of telehealth services in Libya and to provide an overview of the current COVID-19 scenario. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous web-based survey was administered to Libyan residents between April and May 2020. Participants were contacted through text messaging, emails, and social media. The survey items yielded information on the sociodemographic characteristics, availability and accessibility of health care services, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care services, mental health status, and the feasibility and application of the telehealth system. RESULTS: We obtained 2512 valid responses, of which 1721 (68.5%) were from females. The participants were aged 28.2 (SD 7.6) years, of whom 2333 (92.9%) were aged <40 years, and 1463 (58.2%) were single. Regarding the health care services and their accessibility, 786 (31.1%) participants reported having a poor health status in general, and 492 (19.6%) reported having a confirmed diagnosis of at least one chronic disease. Furthermore, 498 (19.9%) participants reported varying degrees of difficulty in accessing health care centers, and 1558 (62.0%) could not access their medical records. Additionally, 1546 (61.6%) participants experienced problems in covering medical costs, and 1429 (56.9%) avoided seeking medical care owing to financial concerns. Regarding the feasibility of the telehealth system, approximately half of the participants reported that telehealth services were useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 1545 (61.5%) reported that the system was an effective means of communication and of obtaining health care services. Furthermore, 1435 (57.1%) participants felt comfortable using the telehealth system, and 1129 (44.9%) felt that they were able to express themselves effectively. Moreover, 1389 (55.3%) participants found the system easy to understand, and 1354 (53.9%) reported having excellent communication with physicians through the telehealth system. However, only 1018 (40.5%) participants reported that communication was better with the telehealth system than with traditional methods. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed high levels of usability and willingness to use the telemedicine system as an alternative modality to in-person consultations among the Libyan residents in this study. This system is advantageous because it helps overcome health care costs, increases access to prompt medical care and follow-up evaluation, and reduces the risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, internet connectivity and electricity issues could be a substantial barrier for many resource-limited communities, and further studies should address such obstacles.
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spelling pubmed-79198412021-03-05 Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis Elhadi, Muhammed Msherghi, Ahmed Elhadi, Ahmed Ashini, Aimen Alsoufi, Ahmed Bin Alshiteewi, Fatimah Elmabrouk, Amna Alsuyihili, Ali Elgherwi, Alsafa Elkhafeefi, Fatimah Abdulrazik, Sarah Tarek, Ahmed JMIR Med Inform Original Paper BACKGROUND: Health care systems in transitional countries have witnessed unprecedented challenges related to adequate and continuous health care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many countries, including Libya, institutions and organizations have begun to implement telehealth technology for the first time. This serves to establish an alternative modality for direct physician-patient interviews to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the usability of telehealth services in Libya and to provide an overview of the current COVID-19 scenario. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous web-based survey was administered to Libyan residents between April and May 2020. Participants were contacted through text messaging, emails, and social media. The survey items yielded information on the sociodemographic characteristics, availability and accessibility of health care services, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care services, mental health status, and the feasibility and application of the telehealth system. RESULTS: We obtained 2512 valid responses, of which 1721 (68.5%) were from females. The participants were aged 28.2 (SD 7.6) years, of whom 2333 (92.9%) were aged <40 years, and 1463 (58.2%) were single. Regarding the health care services and their accessibility, 786 (31.1%) participants reported having a poor health status in general, and 492 (19.6%) reported having a confirmed diagnosis of at least one chronic disease. Furthermore, 498 (19.9%) participants reported varying degrees of difficulty in accessing health care centers, and 1558 (62.0%) could not access their medical records. Additionally, 1546 (61.6%) participants experienced problems in covering medical costs, and 1429 (56.9%) avoided seeking medical care owing to financial concerns. Regarding the feasibility of the telehealth system, approximately half of the participants reported that telehealth services were useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 1545 (61.5%) reported that the system was an effective means of communication and of obtaining health care services. Furthermore, 1435 (57.1%) participants felt comfortable using the telehealth system, and 1129 (44.9%) felt that they were able to express themselves effectively. Moreover, 1389 (55.3%) participants found the system easy to understand, and 1354 (53.9%) reported having excellent communication with physicians through the telehealth system. However, only 1018 (40.5%) participants reported that communication was better with the telehealth system than with traditional methods. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed high levels of usability and willingness to use the telemedicine system as an alternative modality to in-person consultations among the Libyan residents in this study. This system is advantageous because it helps overcome health care costs, increases access to prompt medical care and follow-up evaluation, and reduces the risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, internet connectivity and electricity issues could be a substantial barrier for many resource-limited communities, and further studies should address such obstacles. JMIR Publications 2021-02-26 /pmc/articles/PMC7919841/ /pubmed/33606654 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/23335 Text en ©Muhammed Elhadi, Ahmed Msherghi, Ahmed Elhadi, Aimen Ashini, Ahmed Alsoufi, Fatimah Bin Alshiteewi, Amna Elmabrouk, Ali Alsuyihili, Alsafa Elgherwi, Fatimah Elkhafeefi, Sarah Abdulrazik, Ahmed Tarek. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 26.02.2021. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Medical Informatics, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://medinform.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Elhadi, Muhammed
Msherghi, Ahmed
Elhadi, Ahmed
Ashini, Aimen
Alsoufi, Ahmed
Bin Alshiteewi, Fatimah
Elmabrouk, Amna
Alsuyihili, Ali
Elgherwi, Alsafa
Elkhafeefi, Fatimah
Abdulrazik, Sarah
Tarek, Ahmed
Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis
title Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis
title_full Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis
title_fullStr Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis
title_short Utilization of Telehealth Services in Libya in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Analysis
title_sort utilization of telehealth services in libya in response to the covid-19 pandemic: cross-sectional analysis
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7919841/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33606654
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/23335
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