Abstract
BackgroundAccess to healthcare in remote areas is difficult and telehealth could be a promising avenue if accepted by the population. The aim of this study is to assess social acceptance and population confidence in telehealth in the Province of Quebec.MethodsWe conducted a survey using a questionnaire assessing the social acceptance of and confidence level in telehealth. Two strategies were used: 1) paper questionnaires were sent to two hospitals in Quebec; and 2) online questionnaires were randomly sent by a firm specialized in online survey to a representative sample of the population of the Province of Quebec. Respondents were all residents of the Province of Quebec and 18 years and older. Questions were scored with a four-level Likert scale.ResultsA total of 1816 questionnaires were analyzed (229 written and 1,587 online questionnaires). The socio-demographic variables in our samples, especially the online questionnaires, were fairly representative of Quebec’s population. Overall, social acceptance scored at 77.71% and confidence level at 65.76%. Both scores were higher in the case of treatment (3 scenarios were proposed) vs. diagnosis (p < 0.05). No difference was found when respondents were asked to respond for themselves and for a member of their family, which demonstrates a true interest in telehealth in Quebec. In addition, we found a significant difference (p < 0.05) between written and online questionnaires regarding social acceptance (80.75% vs. 77.33%) and confidence level (74.84% vs. 64.55%). These differences may be due to social desirability or avidity bias in the written questionnaires.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the population in Quebec encourages the development of telehealth for real time diagnosis and long distance treatment for regions deprived of healthcare professionals.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0727-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Access to healthcare in remote areas is difficult and telehealth could be a promising avenue if accepted by the population
We surveyed in 2009–2010 the population of Quebec on telehealth social acceptance and confidence through a questionnaire administered in French in two ways: 1) a paper questionnaire was handed out in two hospital waiting rooms in the Eastern Township region (CHUS and Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins (BMP)); and 2) an online questionnaire was sent out to the general population of Quebec
Summary Our results indicate the following: 1) selection bias and social desirability bias are potentially less prominent in the Internet survey versus the written survey; 2) scores of social acceptance and confidence in telehealth are higher for treatment than diagnosis and even higher in case of emergency; 3) scores are generally the same when we compare answers given for the respondent and for a member of the family; 4) no difference in scores is found when a health professional, versus a medical doctor, is assisted by telehealth; 5) respondents living in a rural area gave higher scores than the rest of the sample; and 6) the number of years in school is a good predictor of social acceptance and confidence level in telehealth
Summary
Access to healthcare in remote areas is difficult and telehealth could be a promising avenue if accepted by the population. The aim of this study is to assess social acceptance and population confidence in telehealth in the Province of Quebec. A fundamental principle of Quebec’s health care system is equal access to healthcare services. The funding of this system is based on general taxation. This orientation spreads risk equitably throughout the society. This goal is not always achievable in practice, especially for patients living in rural areas where the lack of specialized services is generally an issue. The number of cases in need of a specialized care per year and the proximity of a university
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