scholarly journals Knowledge, Applicability, and Barriers of Telemedicine in Egypt: A National Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Mohamed Alboraie ◽  
Mahmoud Abdelrashed Allam ◽  
Naglaa Youssef ◽  
Mohammad Abdalgaber ◽  
Fathiya El-Raey ◽  
...  

Objectives. The study is aimed at evaluating knowledge, attitude, and barriers to telemedicine among the general population in Egypt. Methods. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional design was carried out among the general Egyptian population. A convenience sampling method was used to approach the eligible participants from University Teaching Hospitals of eight governorates from May to July 2020. Results. A total of 686 participants filled the questionnaire (49.4% were males, mean age 36.7 ± 11.2 years old). Half of the participants stated that they previously used a telemedicine tool, mainly to follow up laboratory results (67.3%). Video or phone calls (39.3%) and mobile applications (23.7%) were the most commonly recognized telemedicine tools by the participants. The included participants exhibited a high level of knowledge and attitude towards telemedicine. On the other hand, 21.9% stated that telemedicine services could jeopardize patient privacy. 32.8% reported that telemedicine service could lead to disclosing medical information to people who are not authorized to do so. Almost half of the participants agreed to strongly agreed that telemedicine service could increase medical errors. 60.80% of the participants said that they are more likely to prefer telemedicine than traditional ways. However, 13.70% stated that telemedicine is more likely to be challenging to use. Conclusion. The Egyptian population has high knowledge about the applications of telemedicine. In addition, the vast majority of Egyptians appear to perceive the benefits of telemedicine positively and are willing to use it. However, some barriers that have been found must be taken into consideration to adopt telemedicine successfully, especially for people who are old, are low educated, and live in remote areas. Future studies should address the utility of telemedicine in improving the quality of healthcare and patient’s health outcome and quality of life.

Author(s):  
Luciana Cardoso ◽  
Fernando Marins ◽  
César Quintas ◽  
Filipe Portela ◽  
Manuel Santos ◽  
...  

With the advancement of technology, patient information has been being computerized in order to facilitate the work of healthcare professionals and improve the quality of healthcare delivery. However, there are many heterogeneous information systems that need to communicate, sharing information and making it available when and where it is needed. To respond to this requirement the Agency for Integration, Diffusion, and Archiving of medical information (AIDA) was created, a multi-agent and service-based platform that ensures interoperability among healthcare information systems. In order to improve the performance of the platform, beyond the SWOT analysis performed, a system to prevent failures that may occur in the platform database and also in machines where the agents are executed was created. The system has been implemented in the Centro Hospitalar do Porto (one of the major Portuguese hospitals), and it is now possible to define critical workload periods of AIDA, improving high availability and load balancing. This is explored in this chapter.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Zhou ◽  
Wenya Tian ◽  
Rengyu Wu ◽  
Chongzhen Qin ◽  
Hongjuan Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Transfer delay provokes prolongation of prehospital time, which contributes to treatment delay that endangers patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A key constraint in reducing transfer delay is the shortage of emergency healthcare workers. This study was to explore the influence of the quality and quantity of healthcare professionals at emergency medical stations on transfer delay and in-hospital mortality among STEMI patients. Methods A cross-sectional study using mixed methods was conducted at 89 emergency stations in 9 districts in China’s Shenzhen province. Based on a sample of 31 hospitals, 1255 healthcare professionals, and 3131 patients with STEMI, a generalized linear model was used to explore the associations between the quality and quantity of healthcare professionals and transfer delay and in-hospital mortality among STEMI patients. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed to explore the reasons for the lack of qualified healthcare professionals at emergency medical stations. Results The analysis of the quantity of healthcare professionals showed that an increase of one physician per 100,000 individuals was associated with decreased transfer delay for patients with STEMI by 5.087 min (95% CI − 6.722, − 3.452; P < 0.001). An increase of one nurse per 100,000 individuals was associated with decreased transfer delay by 1.471 min (95% CI − 2.943, 0.002; P = 0.050). Analysis of the quality of healthcare professionals showed that an increase of one physician with an undergraduate degree per 100,000 individuals was associated with decreased transfer delay for patients with STEMI by 8.508 min (95% CI − 10.457, − 6.558; P < 0.001). An increase of one nurse with an undergraduate degree per 100,000 individuals was associated with decreased transfer delay by 6.645 min (95% CI − 8.218, − 5.072; P < 0.001). Qualitative analysis illustrated that the main reasons for low satisfaction of healthcare professionals at emergency medical stations included low income, limited promotion opportunities, and poor working environment. Conclusions The quantity and quality of emergency healthcare professionals are key factors influencing transfer delay in STEMI patients. The government should increase the quantity of healthcare professionals at emergency medical stations, strengthen the training, and improve their performance by linking with clinical pathways to enhance job enthusiasm among emergency healthcare professionals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abacha ◽  
Isah Mustapha Nma ◽  
Sadiq Abubakar Audu ◽  
Abubakar Umar ◽  
Mohammed Dahiru ◽  
...  

Background: Cleanliness and dirt are a dichotomy to categorize a particular environment especially hospital settings in which cleanliness pave a great linkage to patient satisfaction on quality of care and reduction of infection. Dirt creates negative thought on the quality of services being rendered to patients in the hospital environment. Objectives: To assess the perception of patients and their relatives on the level of cleanliness in radiology department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) Sokoto and to determine which amongst the diagnostic rooms is the cleanest (Computed Tomography (CT) room, Routine X-rays room or contrast exams room (fluoroscopy)). Materials and Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, 100 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents of which 66 in Routine xray room, 23 in CT suit and 11 in contrast examination room. Out of the 100 questionnaires nine were not returned and the remaining 91 were analysed. The questionnaire contains fifteen statements in total apart from the socio-demographic component. The count of responses was considered and for each type of response (SA, A, N, D, and SD) the percentage were calculated using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: Sixty percent of the respondents were patients while 40% were relatives of patients that were critically ill. The modal age range of the respondents was 25-34years, 58% were married, while 48.4% were civil servants. The result of our study shows that the respondents have adequate knowledge on cleanliness with a mean score of 4.3, they perceived radiology department as a clean environment for diagnosis and visitation but need further improvement. According to the findings, CT room was the cleanest (87.0%) followed by contrast examination room 64.0% and routine X-rays room was the least 47.0%. It also revealed that lack of manpower is the cause of inadequate sanitation. Conclusion: Radiology Department in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital is clean and the CT suit is the cleanest.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Balkew Asegidew Tegegn ◽  
Betregiorgis Zegeye Hailu ◽  
Birhanu Damtew Tsegaye ◽  
Gashaw Garedew Woldeamanuel ◽  
Wassie Negash

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment contributes to unfavorable health outcome among TB patients. Improving quality of healthcare service helps to avert TB related morbidity. Despite these facts, the level of quality of service is not known in the hospitals. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the quality of care delivered to TB patients among publichospitals.METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 15 to April 30, 2019 in North Shewa Zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia. All TB patients who had follow-up in the hospitals were included. This resulted in the involvement of 82 TB patients. Data was collected by trained data collectors using facility audit, clinical observation checklists, structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to identify the predictors of patients’ satisfaction.RESULTS: In this study, 82 respondents with a mean age of 36.48 (±13.27) years were participated. The mean quality score for structural dimension was 59.5%, and 53.7% of participants were found to be satisfied in outcome dimension. The mean score for process dimension of quality of service were 67.9%. Having TB symptoms were significantly associated with the level of patientsatisfaction towards TB care [AOR = 0.217, p = 0.015].CONCLUSION:Quality of TB services from structural and outcome dimension were low and higher in process dimension. Thus, careful attention on the quality of services will help to reduce the burden of TB.


Author(s):  
Adenike O. Omosun ◽  
Odeyemi Kofoworola

Background: Child adoption is a recommended alternative form of infertility management. Infertility is of public health importance in Nigeria and many other developing nations. This is a result of its high prevalence and especially because of its serious social implications as the African society places a passionate premium on procreation in any family setting. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption amongst women attending infertility clinics in teaching hospitals in Lagos State and to determine the factors that influence their attitude and practice towards it.Method: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Data were collected by using a structured questionnaire which was interviewer-administered. The study was conducted in the two teaching hospitals in Lagos State (LUTH [Lagos University Teaching Hospital] and LASUTH [Lagos State University Teaching Hospital]) from amongst 350 women attending the gynaecological clinics. All the patients under management for infertility at the gynaecology clinics during the period of the study were interviewed.Results: Many respondents (85.7%) had heard of child adoption and 59.3% of them knew the correct meaning of the term. More than half of the respondents (68.3%) said that they could love an adopted child but less than half of them (33.7%) were willing to consider adoption. Only 13.9% has ever adopted a child. The major reason given for their unwillingness to adopt was their desire to have their own biological child. Factors that were favourable towards child adoption were Igbo tribe identity, an age above 40 years, duration of infertility above 15 years, and knowing the correct meaning of child adoption.Conclusion: There is a poor attitude to adoption even amongst infertile couples. Interventions need to be implemented to educate the public on child adoption, to improve their attitude towards adoption and to make it more acceptable.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olufunke O. Adeyeye ◽  
Olayinka O. Ogunleye ◽  
Ayodele Coker ◽  
Yetunde Kuyinu ◽  
Raymond T. Bamisile ◽  
...  

There is paucity of information on the quality of life of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Nigeria. This study assessed the factors influencing their quality of life and the independent predictors of low quality of life scores. Two hundred and sixty consecutive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis seen at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital were evaluated for health related quality of life using the World Health Organization Quality of life instrument (WHOQoL-BREF). Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients were related to the various domains of quality of life and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent predictors of low quality of life scores in the patients. The mean age of the patients was 36.7±12 years. Sex, age and marital status of patients were found to influence quality of life scores. The independent predictors of low quality of life scores were low monthly income, duration of the illness, concomitant illnesses, unemployment, advancing age and male gender. Several socio demographic and economic factors influenced the quality of life of patients with tuberculosis and are predictive of poor scores. It is important to consider these factors when treating patients with tuberculosis to optimise outcome of care.


2020 ◽  
pp. 112067212095761
Author(s):  
Oluwatoyin I. Oladimeji ◽  
Oluwagbemiga O. Adeodu ◽  
Oluwatoyin H. Onakpoya ◽  
Samuel A. Adegoke

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) ranks high among genetic disorders worldwide. It is characterised by repeated vaso-occlusion with resultant end-organ damage. This process can occur in all vascular beds in the body, including ocular blood vessels and may cause irreversible blindness in advanced stages. Little is known of the relationship between the prevalence of ocular abnormalities among children with SCD and their disease severity. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at the Paediatric Haematology Clinics and the Eye Centre of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife. Children with SCD in steady state were recruited from the Haematology Clinics and examined for ocular abnormalities at the Eye Centre of the hospital. The subjects SCD severity grade was determined using a previously validated scoring system. Results: One hundred and twenty (120) children aged 5 to 15 years were examined. Of these, 72 had one or more ocular abnormalities giving the prevalence of ocular abnormalities among them to be 60.0%. Though a higher proportion of children with moderate disease, 23 (65.7%) of 35, compared to those with mild disease, 49 (57.6%) of 85 had ocular abnormalities, this difference was not statistically significant, p = 0.412. Conclusion: Ocular abnormalities among Nigerian children with SCD are common even in steady-state, but not significantly associated with disease severity. Periodic screening for ocular abnormalities should thus be done on them irrespective of disease severity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chidiebere DI. Osuorah ◽  
Ikenna Kingsley Ndu ◽  
Ogechukwu F. Amadi ◽  
Uchenna Ekwochi ◽  
Obinna C. Nduagubam ◽  
...  

The children emergency room (ER) is regarded as an essential section of hospitals and other healthcare settings where immediate medical and surgical care is given to children in need of urgent care. The conditions of the emergency room and the quality of service by the emergency room staff has been described as a major determinant of the socio-medical outcome of patients and their relatives. This is a hospital based cross-sectional carried out in the Children Emergency Room (CHER) of the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu Nigeria. Parents and care-givers that presented with their sick children to the ER department were successively enrolled after obtaining consent. Information on their assessment of certain aspects of the emergency room environment and quality of service received from medical and administrative personnel working in the emergency room was obtained using a 5-point Likert assessment scale. Results were reported using frequencies, percentages and chisquare were applicable. Statistical significance was set at P≤0.05. Over half (59%) of the 83 respondents that presented to the emergency room during the study period were self-referrals and all (95.2%), but four respondents noted a significant improvement in the condition of their sick children following management in the emergency room. In all parameters assessed, most respondents rated the emergency room conditions as moderate in noise level 69 (83.1), crowdedness 65 (78.3), comfort 49 (59.0) and cleanliness 41 (49.4) with an overall point score of 2.97±0.33 out of a possible five. Doctors were on average rated better than nurses and record clerk staff in politeness (P=0.001), patience (P=0.002), efficiency (P=0.002), and adequate explanation of procedures (P=0.001) while nurses were rated better than record staff in explanation of procedures to their patient (P=0.05) but not in politeness (P=0.894), patience (P=0.505) and efficiency (P=0.982). The rating of record clerks was significantly affected by the socio-economic class of respondents (P=0.036) but not by gender (P=0.252) or age of respondents (P=0.123). None of the respondents’ socio-demographic factors significantly determined their rating for the emergency room conditions and the quality of service by doctors or nurses. There is a need for a continued review of emergency room conditions in addition to training and re-training of staff in the children emergency room. This not only helps improve health outcomes but may also significantly reduce the duration of stay in the emergency room that in turn reduces congestion and the burden on the healthcare system.


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