Perceptions, Satisfaction, and Barriers to Telemedicine Use: A Community-Based Study From Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BackgroundTelemedicine has expanded significantly, driven by technology and the necessity for accessible healthcare. However, users' knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers determine its application. This study aimed to assess these factors among patients in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. MethodologyWe conducted a cross-sectional study on 403 participants from Ministry of Health centers in Jeddah from February to May 2023. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection, and subsequent analysis was performed using SPSS version 28.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). ResultsMost participants (93.1%) agreed that telehealth services have improved healthcare accessibility and expressed willingness to participate in future telemedicine consultations. However, 73.7% felt potential embarrassment or discomfort due to camera and equipment presence. Remarkably, 76.2% of participants believed telemedicine suits all medical conditions, and 95% recommended its use. Barriers to telemedicine use were identified, including the need to travel to access healthcare services in the absence of telemedicine and the associated inconvenience and cost. The overall satisfaction score was 4.56 ± 0.78, with the highest satisfaction reported for the ability to talk freely over telemedicine (4.64 ± 0.76) and the ease of registration/scheduling (4.63 ± 0.82). Significant differences (p < 0.001) in satisfaction scores were found across various age groups, gender, nationality, employment status, and education level. Patients aged >55 years and those who used telemedicine services for the first time were associated with a significantly increased risk of poor satisfaction (odds ratio (OR) = 8.068, p = 0.011 and OR = 8.919, p = 0.005, respectively). ConclusionsThe findings suggest high satisfaction and positive attitudes toward telemedicine services in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, despite identifiable barriers such as potential discomfort from camera presence. Patient age and familiarity with telemedicine services significantly influenced satisfaction levels, indicating areas that require attention for the successful implementation and expansion of telemedicine in Saudi Arabia.

Awareness, Attitude, and Perception of Telemedicine Among Trinidad and Tobago Population

“…Our findings showed that T&T population have a favourable attitude towards telemedicine as the majority are willing to try mobile based health app and are not concerned about confidentiality issues raised as a major barrier in the utilization in previous studies [35,36]. Similar findings were recorded in studies on Jordanian [30] and Chinese populations [32].…”

Patient Opinions about Virtual Consultations in Saudi Arabia: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

“…In another questionnaire-based survey of 641 patients who attended primary medicine telemedicine clinics in Jeddah [20], 82.7% of the patients were satisfied with the telemedicine services. Other studies from the KSA have similarly reported high satisfaction with telemedicine in both general [23][24][25] and specialist [26][27][28] practice.…”

“…A very recent meta-analysis of over a hundred cross-sectional studies from around the world on patient satisfaction with telemedicine similarly reported very high patient satisfaction, with less than 3% reporting satisfaction levels below 75% [18]. The recent COVID-19 pandemic also prompted several studies on patient satisfaction with telemedicine in Saudi Arabia, reporting high satisfaction with telemedicine in both general [19,20,[23][24][25] and specialist [26][27][28] practice.…”

“…Therefore, those patients not satisfied with telehealth may refuse to engage with it [11]. The patient satisfaction with telemedicine is high [17][18][19][20]29], including in specific cities or institutions in Saudi Arabia [19,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28], but these studies may not be generalizable to the wider population. No study has comprehensively evaluated all the domains of usefulness, convenience, effectiveness, reliability, and satisfaction regarding virtual consultations, and there have been no nationwide studies regarding patients' opinions about telehealth in Saudi Arabia to identify the factors that might influence patients' perceptions and satisfaction.…”

Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude, and Skills (AKAS) of Telemedicine and Its Use by Primary Healthcare Providers

“…This increased healthcare providers’ awareness about the effective use of TM increases the acceptability of it among the patients and the healthcare providers, 36 , 63–65 facilitates and accelerates the integration of the TM within the PHCs. 61 , 63 , 66–69 Other studies imply that the current use of TM could positively impact the awareness levels of TM among healthcare providers. 46 , 52 , 67 However, because of its cross-sectional design, the present study does not guarantee the temporal relationship between TM awareness and its use.…”