The role of the COVID-19 pandemic in expediting digital health-care transformation: Saudi Arabia's experience

Alkhalifah, Joud Mohammed; Seddiq, Waleed; Alshehri, Badr Fadhel; Alhaluli, Alhanouf Hani; Alessa, Mohammed Mesfer; Alsulais, Naif Mansour

doi:10.1016/j.imu.2022.101097

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In order to combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the Kingdom has developed their digital health system through multiple applications that target different facets of managing this ongoing pandemic, one of these applications named "Sehhaty" was created to manage to aid users in managing their COVID-19 related services, including booking vaccination appointments, COVID-19 testing appointments, viewing testing results, reporting any sideeffects and many other services (10). The WHO reported that as of May 14, 2022, more than 64 million vaccine doses were administered in KSA (1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pattern of self-reported adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide study

Alkhalifah

Seraihi

Al‐Tawfiq

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundVaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most effective way to end the pandemic. Any development of adverse events (AEs) from various vaccines should be reported. We therefore aimed to explore major and minor AEs among vaccinated individuals in Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis is a nationwide report based on the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) registry. It included those who received COVID-19 vaccines from 17th December 2020 to 31st December 2021. The study included spontaneous self-reported adverse effects to COVID-19 vaccines where the study participants used a governmental mobile app (Sehhaty) to report their AEs following vaccination using a checklist option that included a selection of side-effects. The primary outcome was to determine AEs reported within 14 days of vaccination which included injection site itching, pain, reaction, redness, swelling, anxiety, dizziness, fever, headache, hoarseness, itchiness, loss of consciousness, nausea, heartburn, sleep disruption, fatigue, seizures, anaphylaxis, shortness of breath, wheezing, swelling of lips, face, and throat, loss of consciousness, and admissions into the intensive care unit (ICU).ResultsThe study included a total number of 28,031 individuals who reported 71,480 adverse events (AEs); which were further classified into minor and major adverse events including ICU admissions post vaccination. Of the reported AEs, 38,309 (53. 6%) side-effects were reported following Pfizer-BioNTech, 32,223 (45%) following Oxford-AstraZeneca, and 948 (1.3%) following Moderna. The following reported AEs were statistically significant between the different vaccine types: shortness of breath\difficulty of breathing, dizziness, fever above 39°C, headache, hoarseness, injection site reactions, itchiness, nausea, sleep disruption, fatigue, wheezing, swelling of lips/face and\or throat, and loss of consciousness (p-value < 0.05). Fever and seizure were the only statistically significant AEs amongst the number of vaccine doses received (p-value < 0.05). Ten ICU admissions were reported in the 14 days observation period post-COVID-19 vaccination with the following diagnoses: acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, atherosclerosis, acute respiratory failure, intracranial hemorrhage, grand mal seizure, Guillain-Barré syndrome, abnormal blood gas levels, and septic shock.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that the most prevalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccine side-effects among adults in Saudi Arabia were mild in nature. This information will help reduce vaccine hesitancy and encourage further mass vaccination to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as booster doses are now available. Further studies are warranted to obtain a better understanding of the association between risk factors and the experiencing of side-effects post vaccination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pattern of self-reported adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide study

Alkhalifah

Seraihi

Al‐Tawfiq

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of digital health-care services in Saudi ( Alkhalifah et al, 2022 ) and the Middle East ( Shamiyah et al, 2023 ). The era of online applications has replaced paperwork and centralized many processes such as sick leave and appointment scheduling.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Telerehabilitation in Saudi Arabia

Alhabter,

Qureshi,

Ullah

2023

Int J Telerehab

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Organizations have their own policies and procedures to govern operational aspects of health care facilities. With the advent of telemedicine, there has been a growing trend in providing telehealth practices without formally exploring the ethical and legislative aspects. The potential use of electronic and digital services in telerehabilitation can influence various ethical and legal factors, such as confidentiality, consent. and negligence. Thus, establishing clear strategies in this regard is necessary. Ethical and legal aspects of healthcare are influenced by cultural, religious, and legislative rulings of a state. At the same time, the multidimensional scope of rehabilitation in a health system has its own challenges. This narrative review intends to highlight the importance of incorporating the ethical and legislative framework in the telerehabilitation process in Saudi Arabia. A summary of various aspects in-line with unique local attributes is included, which can also help to facilitate regional telerehabilitation services in the Arab World.

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“…During the same period, health policy researchers observed a significant escalation in digital health service usage. 18 , 19 , 20 This digital health engagement trend emerged as the key enabler for revamping existing health information ecosystems and needs to be prolonged to enable optimal data usage in health care delivery. Scholars and policymakers also understand that digitally enabled, user-centric health care service design is a key success factor in the emerging era of data-driven PHC.…”

Section: Health Care Providersmentioning

confidence: 99%