Introducing Telemedicine in Italy: Citizens’ Awareness of a New Healthcare Resource

Abstract

In recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, new technologies have emerged as useful resources in healthcare. Telemedicine services may decrease opportunities for contagion by limiting direct medical contacts; they can lead to greater access to and better quality of care, especially for the elderly and chronically ill patients. However, there are still some difficulties in their widespread use, such as lack of knowledge about the effectiveness and safety of telemedicine; lack of awareness of its existence; privacy issues; and lack of computer literacy. The aim of this study is to assess the awareness of and attitude toward telemedicine in the Italian adult population, considering sociodemographic characteristics and territorial differences in telemedicine service implementation. A questionnaire was administered to Italian citizens from October 2022 to February 2023 using communication and social media in order to collect sociodemographic and health characteristics and data on awareness and use of telemedicine services. Less than half of the respondents (n = 1002) were aware of telemedicine services in their region; most of them did not use the available services due to a preference for in-person visits or lack of need. More than 90% of participants who used these services were satisfied with them. A negative attitude toward telemedicine was found in a higher proportion of older adults. This study demonstrated that, although telemedicine services are active in Italy, a large part of the population ignores its availability. Therefore, further efforts should be made to increase citizens’ awareness and the use of telemedicine in our country.

Community-Dwelling Older Adults’ Readiness for Adopting Digital Health Technologies: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

“…In Italy, a potential digital health gap among older adults due to infrastructural issues and the lack of digital skills have been described, with differences between age groups and educational levels [ 13 ]. In a cross-sectional survey study, less than half of the 1002 respondents were aware of telemedicine services in their region [ 14 ]. According to health care professionals, some groups of patients experience difficulties in accessing and using digital health technologies due to sociocultural factors, technological and linguistic challenges, and the absence of caregivers [ 15 ].…”