Abstract
BackgroundSince the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several health care programs intended to provide telemedicine services have been introduced in Libya. Many physicians have used these services to provide care and advice to their patients remotely.ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide an overview of physicians’ awareness, knowledge, attitude, and skill in using telehealth services in Libya.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we administered a web-based survey to health care workers in Libya in May 2020. The questionnaire collected information on physicians’ general demographic characteristics, ability to use a computer, and telemedicine awareness, knowledge, attitude, and skills.ResultsAmong 673 health care workers who responded to the survey, 377 (56%) and 248 (36.8%) reported high awareness and high computer skill scores, respectively, for telemedicine. Furthermore, 582 (86.5%) and 566 (82.6%) health care workers reported high knowledge and high attitude scores, respectively. We observed no significant differences in awareness, knowledge, attitude, and skill scores among physicians employed at public, private, or both types of hospitals. We observed significant differences in the mean awareness (P<.001), attitude (P=.001), and computer skill scores (P<.001) , where the score distribution of the groups based on the ability to use computers was not similar. Knowledge scores did not significantly differ among the three groups (P=.37). Respondents with professional computer skills had significantly higher awareness (χ23=14.5; P<.001) and attitude (χ23=13.5; P=.001) scores than those without professional computer skills. We observed significant differences in the mean computer skill scores of the groups (χ23=199.6; P<.001).ConclusionsThe consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to persist for a long time. Hence, policy programs such as telemedicine services, which aim to address the obstacles to medical treatment owing to physical distancing measures, will likely continue for a long time. Therefore, there is a need to train and support health care workers and initiate government programs that provide adequate and supportive health care services to patients in transitional countries.
Highlights
SARS-CoV-2 was identified as the cause of severe viral pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019
The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to persist for a long time
This study aimed to provide an overview of physicians’ awareness, knowledge, attitude, and skills of telemedicine—a technology that has been recently introduced in transitional countries
Summary
SARS-CoV-2 was identified as the cause of severe viral pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Preventive measures have been implemented to reduce the potential exposure of individuals to the virus and to decrease the burden of COVID-19 transmission. These measures include hand washing, avoiding touching the face and eyes, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects, wearing protective equipment including masks, and most importantly, social distancing by staying at home, avoiding close physical contact with others, and maintaining adequate interpersonal distance [6,7,8]. Telemedicine and telehealth services are especially important for individuals without COVID-19 seeking medical treatment during the pandemic, especially those with chronic or acute illnesses. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several health care programs intended to provide telemedicine services have been introduced in Libya. Many physicians have used these services to provide care and advice to their patients remotely
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