Use of video-based telehealth services using a mobile app for workers in underserved areas during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has limited face-to-face treatment, triggering a change in the structure of existing healthcare services. Unlike other groups, workers in underserved areas have relatively poor access to healthcare. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of video-based telehealth services using a mobile personal health record (PHR) app for vulnerable workers with metabolic risk factors. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted with 117 participants and 27 healthcare professionals for 16 weeks. Participants visited the research institution three times (at weeks 1, 8, and 16) and underwent health check-ups and used various features of the mobile PHR app. Healthcare professionals observed the participants’s data using the monitoring system and performed appropriate interventions. The primary outcome measures were to evaluate the effects of services on changes in the participants’ metabolic risk factors, and secondary outcome measures were to analyze changes in the participants’ lifestyle and service satisfaction, and to observe service use through usage logs. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and Scheffé’s test were performed to observe changes in participants’ health status and lifestyle, and a paired t-test was performed to analyze changes in service satisfaction. Finally, in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals were performed using semi-structured questionnaires to understand service providers’ perspectives after the end of the study. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure (F = 7.32, P <.001), diastolic blood pressure (F = 11.30, P <.001), body weight (F = 29.53, P <.001), BMI (F = 17.31, P <.001), waist circumference (F = 17.33, P <.001), fasting blood glucose (F = 5.11, P =.007), and triglycerides (F = 4.66, P =.01) showed significant improvements with time points, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (F = 3.35, P =.067) did not. The dietary score (F = 3.26, P =.04) showed a significant improvement with time points, whereas physical activity (F = 1.06, P =.34) did not. In terms of service satisfaction, only lifestyle improvement (P <.001) showed a significant difference. COVID-19 has affected the performance of healthcare professionals, thereby changing the perspectives toward healthcare technology services. CONCLUSIONS: We evaluated the effectiveness of video-based telehealth services supporting workers’ health status and lifestyle interventions using healthcare technologies such as the mobile PHR app, tele-monitoring, and video teleconsultation. Our results indicate that as a complementary means, its utility can be expanded in the field of occupational safety and health to overcome the limitations of face-to-face treatment due to COVID-19 in the future.