The Impact of COVID-19 on the Prevalence and Perception of Telehealth Utilization. (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has emerged as a safer way to access healthcare. The telehealth industry has been rapidly expanding over the last decade as a modality to provide patient-centered care. However, the prevalence of its use and patient acceptability remains unclear in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. OBJECTIVE The primary aim was to assess the prevalence of telehealth use before and during the pandemic by utilizing social media (Instagram) as an online platform for survey administration across different countries simultaneously. Our secondary aim was to assess the perceptions regarding telehealth usage amongst those utilizing it. METHODS An online social media platform (Instagram) that reaches 130,000 subjects daily, was used to administer a questionnaire that assessed the current prevalence of telehealth use and public attitudes and acceptability towards this modality of healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS 1524 respondents participated in the survey (females 89.3%; age range 25-38) of whom 91.2% lived in the GCC. Prior to COVID-19, 1440 (88%) had no exposure to telehealth. Following the covid-19 pandemic telehealth usage increased by 237% to a total of 644 users (40%) (follow-up consultations (n=410, 47%); first-time consultations (n=348, 40%)) that was associated with older age (p=0.001), having one or more comorbidities (p=0.001), taking one or more pills (p=0.001), living in the GCC (p=0.003). Those who reported using telehealth (n=679), 247 (36.4%) reported their willingness to continue using telehealth, 254 (37.4%) were unsure and 178 (26.2%) did not wish to continue to use telehealth after the COVID19 pandemic. An inverse relationship between telehealth usage and the increasing number of medical comorbidities was shown (OR= 0.76, p= 0.023). Respondents using messaging or video telehealth usage were more likely recommend virtual visits than those who used audio calls (OR= 0.49, p= 0.024). Overall, there was general satisfaction with telehealth usage and respondents found telehealth to be equally effective to in-person visits. CONCLUSIONS Telehealth usage increased dramatically and was found to be acceptable though less so if there were other comorbidities; however, further innovation to increase telehealth acceptability is needed if this is to have greater future utility in healthcare delivery.