Knowledge and perception of e-health and telemedicine among health professionals in Lautech teaching hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the knowledge and perception of health professionals in LAUTECH Teaching Hospital (LTH), Osogbo on e-health and telemedicine Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive survey, 110 different health professionals were selected by proportional multi-stage sampling in LTH, Osogbo using self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire to assess their knowledge and perception of e-health and telemedicine. Results: Only 34.1% had good knowledge of what ehealth and telemedicine entails and only 13% of the respondents have attended any relevant workshop. Respondents’ profession and attendance in workshop affected their knowledge. Although as much as 91.6% were in support of introduction of e-health practice in Nigeria, most of them believed that financial implication, illiteracy and poor infrastructure, such as electric power supply and internet services, could limit its full application. Conclusion: Although the knowledge of the health professionals on e-health and telemedicine was poor, majority of them were in support of the services. There is therefore the need to intensify training workshops for health professionals and improve electricity and Electronic communications. Keywords: E-Health; Health professionals; Knowledge; Perception; Telemedicine; Nigeria.