A Narrative Review of the Launch and the Deployment of Telemedicine in Italy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Giansanti, Daniele; Morone, Giovanni; A, Loreti; Germanotta, Marco; Aprile, Irene

doi:10.3390/healthcare10030415

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Almost in all world regions, COVID-19 necessitated wearing facemasks to the general population, at least between 2020 and 2022 [ 1 , 4 ]. However, wearing facemasks has not been, and never would be, a uniform experience across nations due to cultural, gender, social, economic, and geopolitical forces [ 4 , 5 ]. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated multiple strands of inequalities worldwide [ 6 , 7 ], including in Afghanistan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hijab or Niqab Interacts with Facemasks Usage at Healthcare Settings in Kabul, Afghanistan: A Multi-Center Observational Study

et al. 2022

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Purpose: We aim to understand the extent of facemask usage resulting from the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in an Afghan context. In Afghanistan, new COVID-19 variants, low vaccination rates, political turmoil, and poverty interact not only with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic but also with facemask usage. Methods: We collected data (n = 1970) by visually observing the usage and type of facemasks used among visitors entering healthcare facilities in Kabul. We conducted an observational study observing the use of facemasks among 1279 men and 691 women. Results: While 71% of all participants adhered to wearing facemasks, 94% of these users wore surgical masks, and 86% wore all types of facemasks correctly. Interestingly, women adhered to wearing facemasks more than men. Specifically, of all the participants who were not wearing masks, 20% were men, and only 8% were women. Even though men were more in number in our study (64.9%), women have a higher adherence rate to wearing facemasks than men. Conclusions: We argue that gender socialization and expectations of women to wear the niqab or hijab interact with their adherence to wearing facemasks. Additionally, Afghanistan is an underrepresented social context. Since Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, which has witnessed a considerable period of political turmoil, we spotlight that our findings are rare in scholarship as they represent a distinct non-Western Islamic society with a low scale of COVID-19 vaccination. Therefore, more research is needed to assess the general population’s socioeconomic and geopolitical barriers to facemask use. Our findings are expected to aid health policymakers in developing novel prevention strategies for the country.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hijab or Niqab Interacts with Facemasks Usage at Healthcare Settings in Kabul, Afghanistan: A Multi-Center Observational Study

et al. 2022

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“…The first , TD, inherits the problems of telemedicine and e-Health . These problems, such as their regulation, was only partially and patchily overcome during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 61 , 62 ]. The second , mHealth , has a very short history in terms of its connection to and integration with digital health imaging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing Dermatological Care: A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Tele-Dermatology and mHealth for Bridging Gaps and Expanding Opportunities beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

Giansanti

2023

Healthcare

Self Cite

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Mobile health (mHealth) has recently had significant advances in tele-dermatology (TD) thanks to the developments following the COVID-19 pandemic. This topic is very important, as telemedicine and mHealth, when applied to dermatology, could improve both the quality of healthcare for citizens and the workflow in the health domain. The proposed study was centered on the last three years. We conducted an overview on the opportunities, the perspectives, and the problems involved in TD integration with mHealth. The methodology of the narrative review was based on: (I) a search of PubMed and Scopus and (II) an eligibility assessment, using properly proposed parameters. The outcome of the study showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, TD integration with mHealth advanced rapidly. This integration enabled the monitoring of dermatological problems and facilitated remote specialist visits, reducing face-to-face interactions. AI and mobile apps have empowered citizens to take an active role in their healthcare. This differs from other imaging sectors where information exchange is limited to professionals. The opportunities for TD in mHealth include improving service quality, streamlining healthcare processes, reducing costs, and providing more accessible care. It can be applied to various conditions, such as (but not limited to) acne, vitiligo, psoriasis, and skin cancers. Integration with AI and augmented reality (AR), as well as the use of wearable sensors, are anticipated as future developments. However, integrating TD with mHealth also brings about problems and challenges related to regulations, ethics, cybersecurity, data privacy, and device management. Scholars and policymakers need to address these issues while involving citizens in the process.

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“…A narrative review of the deployment of telemedicine in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed similar phenomena as experienced by users in Poland [ 34 ]. The authors of the review reported initial disorientation in the use of telemedicine preceding the preparation of recommendations for its use, an expansion of the telemedicine boundaries, and its high acceptance in the population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Nationwide Natural Experiment of e-Health Implementation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland: User Satisfaction and the Ease-of-Use of Remote Physician’s Visits

Duplaga

2022

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a considerable increase in the use of e-health applications. Shortly after confirmation of the first case of COVID-19 in Poland, the Ministry of Health allowed for the general use of remote physician’s visits (RPVs) as a substitute for traditional visits to the physician’s office. It was estimated that during the first year of the pandemic, as many as 80% of primary care visits were provided remotely, mainly by phone. This study’s main aim was to assess the use of e-health services in the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the factors related to user satisfaction and positive assessment of the ease-of-use of RPVs were analyzed. The analysis was based on data obtained from a computer-assisted web-based interviewing (CAWI) survey among 2410 adult Internet users in Poland. The questionnaire consisted of 55 items, including a 16-item European Health Literacy Questionnaire, an 8-item e-Health Literacy scale, a set of questions about the use of and experience with e-health services during the pandemic, and items exploring the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. Univariate logistic regression models were developed for variables reflecting user satisfaction and the assessment of the ease-of-use of RPVs. The use of RPVs increased during the pandemic by about 200%. Higher health literacy and e-health literacy, older age, higher income, a greater number of e-health services used before the pandemic, and telephone-based remote visits were significantly associated with higher user satisfaction and ease-of-use of RPVs. Respondents using RPVs for renewal of prescriptions were more favorable in assessing satisfaction and ease-of-use. A less positive assessment of satisfaction and ease-of-use was provided by students and vocationally passive persons in comparison to the employed. Finally, the perception of the threat of COVID-19 was associated with higher satisfaction and better assessment of ease-of-use. Persons declaring the intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 were more likely to be satisfied with remote visits. User satisfaction and the feeling of ease-of-use in the case of remote advice provided by a physician depend on many factors. Significant predictors include selected sociodemographic and economic variables, determinants associated with the perception of the threat of COVID-19, the aims and tools used for the RPVs, and earlier experience with e-health services.

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A Narrative Review of the Launch and the Deployment of Telemedicine in Italy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 13 publications

References 47 publications

Hijab or Niqab Interacts with Facemasks Usage at Healthcare Settings in Kabul, Afghanistan: A Multi-Center Observational Study

Hijab or Niqab Interacts with Facemasks Usage at Healthcare Settings in Kabul, Afghanistan: A Multi-Center Observational Study

Advancing Dermatological Care: A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Tele-Dermatology and mHealth for Bridging Gaps and Expanding Opportunities beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

A Nationwide Natural Experiment of e-Health Implementation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland: User Satisfaction and the Ease-of-Use of Remote Physician’s Visits

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