Spectrum of Population Availing COVID-19 Teleconsultation Services during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Center of Eastern India.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a defining situation globally, and the outpatient services were also affected due to the closure of many healthcare facilities. The study was conducted to know the spectrum of the population availing teleconsultation and their needs for consultation. A cross-sectional study conducted in AIIMS Bhubaneswar, India, from May 2021 to June 2021in which the beneficiaries availing of the COVID-19 teleconsultation service were taken as study was participants and a total of 423 participants participated in the study. The proportion of participants who availed of the services in the age group 20-39 years was 67.8%. The participants from the urban area were 81%. Very few or almost nil participation were observed in the category of semiskilled, unskilled, and unemployed occupations. The reasons for availing of teleconsultation services were, for the treatment of COVID-19 disease (45%), distressed consultation for the medication (21%), and seeking advice for testing (13%), related to COVID-19 vaccination (6%) and 9% consulted to know the prognosis of the disease. Steps should be taken to expand the teleconsultation services to the underserved rural community and the people with lower educational status.