Challenges and Opportunities of Use and Adoption of Telemedicine for Diabetes Care and Management During COVID-19 and Beyond
ABSTRACT
Background:
Globally, more than one-half of the world’s population suffers from noncommunicable diseases causing premature death. Leveraging digital solutions like telemedicine, healthcare providers (HCPs) can provide medical care remotely. Yet, there is little known about the contextual challenges and opportunities of leveraging telemedicine solutions in varying socioeconomic and cultural contexts, including Kuwait.
Objective:
(i) Uncover the challenges and opportunities of adopting and using telemedicine for diabetes care and management from the viewpoints of HCPs and patients with diabetes, (ii) Explore non-functional requirements for telemedicine applications for diabetes care and management; and (iii) Offer recommendations to improve the adoption of telemedicine in Kuwait’s healthcare systems for diabetes care and management.
Methods:
Through semi-structured interviews, the study employed a qualitative and exploratory design to uncover rich context-specific findings. Participants were recruited via social media platforms. The analysis followed a thematic analysis approach and utilized the Framework method. Researchers used the Diffusion of Innovation model as a lens to guide the analysis and interpretation of the results.
Results:
Twenty interviews were conducted, ten HCPs and ten patients with diabetes. Participants were familiar and interested in adopting telemedicine. Challenges included the lack of telemedicine infrastructure and how to increase patients’ technology awareness. Patients with diabetes mentioned that telemedicine would save time and effort. Participants suggest developing a secure user-friendly telemedicine solution. Participants stated the importance of telemedicine during pandemic as many diabetes cases can be followed up online, it reduces virus spread thus increases patient safety.
Conclusions:
The findings from this study can give a better understanding of what HCPs and patients with diabetes need to accept the adoption of telemedicine in resource-rich county like Kuwait. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the way of HCPs deliver medical care to patients and encouraged both to explore the digital platform for continuous care and management of diabetes. Clinical Trial: N/A
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