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Implementation, Patient Satisfaction and Usability of Telemedicine Services for Pediatric Thalassemia Cases in Balochistan During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Received: 25 April 2022     Accepted: 23 May 2022     Published: 16 June 2022
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Abstract

Background: Telemedicine health service has revolutionized delivery of health care to the doorsteps of needy and deserving cases especially since the onset of the recent pandemic; COVID-19. Beta thalassemia major children require lifelong medical care, despite any untoward circumstances. Aim of this study is to identify role of telemedicine in diagnosing, treating and following-up of thalassemia cases and assess patient satisfaction. Objective: To assess implementation, patient satisfaction and usability of telemedicine health service for pediatric thalassemia cases in Northern Balochistan. Study place and duration: Study was carried out at District Headquarter Hospital Zhob from April 2021 to September 2021. Material & methods: Telemedicine service was established at Pediatric Department DHQ Hospital Zhob during COVID-19 pandemic. The data of all thalassemia cases that were managed/provided health care via telemedicine was collected and recorded. Patient satisfaction and usability of telemedicine service provided was assessed using a questionnaire prepared after thorough study of literature. The parents and care-givers of thalassemia cases treated via telemedicine were interviewed on mobile cell phones/telephone and the questionnaires were filled. Overall satisfaction was also gauged according to a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 depicted extremely dissatisfaction and 5 showed extreme satisfaction. The data was analyzed with Statistical package for social science (SPSS 21). Results: Total 347 patients of thalassemia received telemedicine health service during the study period. There were 182 (52.4%) males and 165 (47.6%) females with age range of 1 – 15 years (mean age 8.09 + 3.47 years). Total 289 (83.3%) telemedicine service seekers were residing in rural areas and rest 58 (16.7%) resided in urban areas. Ninety seven families (28%) belonged to poor class, 192 (55.35) belonged to lower middle class, 55 (15.9%) belonged to upper middle class and 3 (0.9%) belonged to rich class. Majority of participants (97.4%) were significantly satisfied with telemedicine service (p value 0.001). Conclusion: During current COVID-19 pandemic telemedicine has emerged as an exceptional alternate mode of healthcare delivery. It saves cost and time of travelling for thalassemia cases who require life-long hospital visits and follow-up. People have shown high satisfaction and positive attitude towards telemedicine health service provision.

Published in American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 8, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23
Page(s) 126-131
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Satisfaction, Telemedicine, Thalassemia, Pediatric

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sumera Akram, Muhammad Ahmed Khan. (2022). Implementation, Patient Satisfaction and Usability of Telemedicine Services for Pediatric Thalassemia Cases in Balochistan During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. American Journal of Pediatrics, 8(2), 126-131. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23

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    ACS Style

    Sumera Akram; Muhammad Ahmed Khan. Implementation, Patient Satisfaction and Usability of Telemedicine Services for Pediatric Thalassemia Cases in Balochistan During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. Am. J. Pediatr. 2022, 8(2), 126-131. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23

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    AMA Style

    Sumera Akram, Muhammad Ahmed Khan. Implementation, Patient Satisfaction and Usability of Telemedicine Services for Pediatric Thalassemia Cases in Balochistan During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. Am J Pediatr. 2022;8(2):126-131. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23,
      author = {Sumera Akram and Muhammad Ahmed Khan},
      title = {Implementation, Patient Satisfaction and Usability of Telemedicine Services for Pediatric Thalassemia Cases in Balochistan During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond},
      journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
      volume = {8},
      number = {2},
      pages = {126-131},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20220802.23},
      abstract = {Background: Telemedicine health service has revolutionized delivery of health care to the doorsteps of needy and deserving cases especially since the onset of the recent pandemic; COVID-19. Beta thalassemia major children require lifelong medical care, despite any untoward circumstances. Aim of this study is to identify role of telemedicine in diagnosing, treating and following-up of thalassemia cases and assess patient satisfaction. Objective: To assess implementation, patient satisfaction and usability of telemedicine health service for pediatric thalassemia cases in Northern Balochistan. Study place and duration: Study was carried out at District Headquarter Hospital Zhob from April 2021 to September 2021. Material & methods: Telemedicine service was established at Pediatric Department DHQ Hospital Zhob during COVID-19 pandemic. The data of all thalassemia cases that were managed/provided health care via telemedicine was collected and recorded. Patient satisfaction and usability of telemedicine service provided was assessed using a questionnaire prepared after thorough study of literature. The parents and care-givers of thalassemia cases treated via telemedicine were interviewed on mobile cell phones/telephone and the questionnaires were filled. Overall satisfaction was also gauged according to a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 depicted extremely dissatisfaction and 5 showed extreme satisfaction. The data was analyzed with Statistical package for social science (SPSS 21). Results: Total 347 patients of thalassemia received telemedicine health service during the study period. There were 182 (52.4%) males and 165 (47.6%) females with age range of 1 – 15 years (mean age 8.09 + 3.47 years). Total 289 (83.3%) telemedicine service seekers were residing in rural areas and rest 58 (16.7%) resided in urban areas. Ninety seven families (28%) belonged to poor class, 192 (55.35) belonged to lower middle class, 55 (15.9%) belonged to upper middle class and 3 (0.9%) belonged to rich class. Majority of participants (97.4%) were significantly satisfied with telemedicine service (p value 0.001). Conclusion: During current COVID-19 pandemic telemedicine has emerged as an exceptional alternate mode of healthcare delivery. It saves cost and time of travelling for thalassemia cases who require life-long hospital visits and follow-up. People have shown high satisfaction and positive attitude towards telemedicine health service provision.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Implementation, Patient Satisfaction and Usability of Telemedicine Services for Pediatric Thalassemia Cases in Balochistan During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
    AU  - Sumera Akram
    AU  - Muhammad Ahmed Khan
    Y1  - 2022/06/16
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23
    T2  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JF  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JO  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    SP  - 126
    EP  - 131
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-0909
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20220802.23
    AB  - Background: Telemedicine health service has revolutionized delivery of health care to the doorsteps of needy and deserving cases especially since the onset of the recent pandemic; COVID-19. Beta thalassemia major children require lifelong medical care, despite any untoward circumstances. Aim of this study is to identify role of telemedicine in diagnosing, treating and following-up of thalassemia cases and assess patient satisfaction. Objective: To assess implementation, patient satisfaction and usability of telemedicine health service for pediatric thalassemia cases in Northern Balochistan. Study place and duration: Study was carried out at District Headquarter Hospital Zhob from April 2021 to September 2021. Material & methods: Telemedicine service was established at Pediatric Department DHQ Hospital Zhob during COVID-19 pandemic. The data of all thalassemia cases that were managed/provided health care via telemedicine was collected and recorded. Patient satisfaction and usability of telemedicine service provided was assessed using a questionnaire prepared after thorough study of literature. The parents and care-givers of thalassemia cases treated via telemedicine were interviewed on mobile cell phones/telephone and the questionnaires were filled. Overall satisfaction was also gauged according to a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 depicted extremely dissatisfaction and 5 showed extreme satisfaction. The data was analyzed with Statistical package for social science (SPSS 21). Results: Total 347 patients of thalassemia received telemedicine health service during the study period. There were 182 (52.4%) males and 165 (47.6%) females with age range of 1 – 15 years (mean age 8.09 + 3.47 years). Total 289 (83.3%) telemedicine service seekers were residing in rural areas and rest 58 (16.7%) resided in urban areas. Ninety seven families (28%) belonged to poor class, 192 (55.35) belonged to lower middle class, 55 (15.9%) belonged to upper middle class and 3 (0.9%) belonged to rich class. Majority of participants (97.4%) were significantly satisfied with telemedicine service (p value 0.001). Conclusion: During current COVID-19 pandemic telemedicine has emerged as an exceptional alternate mode of healthcare delivery. It saves cost and time of travelling for thalassemia cases who require life-long hospital visits and follow-up. People have shown high satisfaction and positive attitude towards telemedicine health service provision.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Pediatrics, District Headquarter Hospital Zhob, Zhob (Balochistan), Pakistan

  • Department of ENT, Combined Military Hospital Zhob, Zhob (Balochistan), Pakistan

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