ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has continued to cause significant impact on the human population. It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on March 11th 2020, due to its global reach. Among the several ways societies have been affected is the need for limited physical contacts between people to halt the spread of the virus. Health agencies worldwide have therefore began exploring the possibilities that telemedicine provides in using technology to quell the limitations to health care delivery posed by this public health challenge, despite the seeming limitations that hindered its full scale adoption prior to this era. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice and factors influencing the adoption telemedicine services among residents in Benin City, Edo state.
METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross sectional study design was utilized to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice and factors influencing the adoption telemedicine services among residents in Benin City, Edo state. Multi-staged sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data collection was done by means of a structured self-administered questionnaire. IBM SPSS software version 25.0 was used for analysis. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results were presented using prose, frequency tables and graphs.
RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 26.9 ± 7.1 years. Majority 279 (67.6%) were students and 289 (70%) had tertiary education. More than half the respondents had good knowledge 192 (61.5%) and good attitude 168 (53.8%), respectively. Less than half 122 (39.1%) of the respondents had ever used any telemedicine medium. Phone call was the most commonly used telemedicine medium 57 (46.7%), Majority of respondents use telemedicine media because it reduces waiting time at the hospital 106 (86.9%) and it is readily available 105 (86.1%). Among the most prevalent factors which discouraged the use of telemedicine were network challenges during telemedicine consultations 81 (42.6%) and lack of constant power supply 69 (36.3%). Levels of education and income were significantly associated with knowledge of telemedicine (p < 0.005).
CONCLUSION: Majority of residents in Benin City, Edo state had an overall good knowledge and positive attitude towards telemedicine. The practice of telemedicine was below average and was influenced by factors such as relatively cost, convenience and accessibility. There is need to improve awareness of telemedicine amongst residents as well as improving supporting technologies for utilization of telemedicine services and review local policies to encourage telecommunication companies to help improve access to telemedicine services through their platform.
KEYWORDS: Coronavirus, Human, Pandemic, public health, telemedicine
