Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jul 22, 2025
Date Accepted: Dec 17, 2025
Parental Acceptance of Telemedicine in Pediatric Surgery and Its Implications for Future Care Models: A Survey Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digitalization has revolutionized healthcare, offering innovations like telemedical applications and remote consultations. While the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic overall accelerated telemedicine adoption, challenges persist in pediatric health care. Studies already highlighted telemedicine's economic benefits and advantages in rural areas; yet its demand in urban areas remains unclear.
Objective:
To assess caregivers’ readiness to use telemedical tools in the context of pediatric surgery in an urban/metropolitan area.
Methods:
A 15-item survey was distributed to families (n=100) of pediatric surgical patients between May and November 2023. The survey included questions on sociodemographic factors, as well as previous experience with telemedicine and caregivers' preferences regarding telemedical support. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test.
Results:
Ninety percent of the interviewed families showed interest in telemedicine as an integrative health care solution for their children. However, only 15% reported on previous experiences. Interest for a primary telemedical consultation was expressed by 53% of the participants. Distance to the next hospital (p=0.77), caregivers employment (p=0.89) and family size (p=0.59) showed no significant impact on the caregivers’ preferences.
Conclusions:
The study highlights strong interest of caregivers in the implementation of telemedical solutions for pediatric surgical diseases in metropolitan area. Telemedicine implementation in this field requires further research on compliance, technical and legal issues.
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