Utilization of Telemedicine in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2013-06
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Addis Abeba university
Abstract
Background: The benefits of telemedicine services are very significant to the society for
improving the quality and access of health in the health care delivery system. However, the
number of service provision sites is limited, inaccessible and the service is underutilized by the
majority of the community due to various factors in Ethiopia.
Objective: The objective of this research is to explore the level of telemedicine utilization, in
Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital from
February to April 2013 among 422 health professionals. Quantitative data were collected
through self-administered pre-tested questionnaires and complemented by a qualitative data
using self interview questions and observation checklist. Quantitative data were initially
entered in to EPi-3.5.1 version and exported to SPSS version 16.0 for analysis. Descriptive
statistics, COR, AOR and 95% CI were calculated. Logistic regressions were carried out to
identify the major predictors' of telemedicine underutilization. Qualitative data were analyzed
thematically.
Results: Majority of participants 65% were males and medical specialists were 56.3%. Of the
total respondents only 40.6% used telemedicine services and 84.5% of them used the services
less than five times a year. Among other factors technology (AOR=9.06 95%CI 3.08, 26.63)
and administrative problems (AOR=3.52 95%CI 1.79, 6.95) and legal issues (AOR=2.21
95%CI 1.14, 4.26) were identified the major predictor for telemedicine underutilization. Lack
of internet connectivity, system unreliability, system user un- friendly and lack of users'
technical assistant were some of the technological barriers reported in both quantitative and
qualitative findings.
Conclusion and recommendation: This study revealed that telemedicine services are
generally underutilized. Technology and administrative problems; and legal issues were
identified as the major factors. Among technological barriers internet connectivity and system
reliability are the major problems identified. Knowing and identifying the factors was vital for
considering future in depth studies and taking appropriate measures to fix the problems faced
in the portfolio.
Key words: -- Telemedicine, Technological barriers, Telemedicine utilization, Tikur Anbessa SpecializedHospital.
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Keywords
Telemedicine;, Technological barriers;, Telemedicine utilization;, Tikur Anbessa SpecializedHospital