Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal?
Abstract Background As in many other countries, the Dutch emergency healthcare system is under pressure due to increasing numbers of patients, limited budgets, and constrained (human) resources (TraumaNet AMC 19 May, 2016; Int J Emerg Med 6:41, 2013). eHealth, enlarged by the COVID-19 pandemic, has...
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BMC
2024-12-01
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| Series: | BMC Health Services Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11259-7 |
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| author | Jelle Friso Spierings Gijs Johan Antoon Willinge Bas Anne Twigt Sjoerd Repping Marike Cornelia Kokke Ruben van Veen Detlef van der Velde |
| author_facet | Jelle Friso Spierings Gijs Johan Antoon Willinge Bas Anne Twigt Sjoerd Repping Marike Cornelia Kokke Ruben van Veen Detlef van der Velde |
| author_sort | Jelle Friso Spierings |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background As in many other countries, the Dutch emergency healthcare system is under pressure due to increasing numbers of patients, limited budgets, and constrained (human) resources (TraumaNet AMC 19 May, 2016; Int J Emerg Med 6:41, 2013). eHealth, enlarged by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been advocated to substitute face-to-face care to alleviate the pressure of the burden of care (Ministry of Health Welfare and Sport, 2022; Dutch Society of Hospitals, 2022). In order for eHealth solutions to be adopted in daily practice, is it essential to assess healthcare professionals’ attitudes toward its usefulness. As this is currently lacking, this study explores the use of eHealth in daily practice, opportunities of eHealth, implementation barriers, and desired functions and features amongst healthcare professionals working in Dutch orthopedic surgery and traumatology. Methods A cross-sectional, web-based survey among the 605 members of the Dutch Society of Trauma Surgery and related healthcare professionals on the attitudes towards eHealth in daily practice was performed between November 4, 2021, and March 31, 2022. The survey consisted of five sections with 42 questions, including close-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, 5-point Likert Scales, Visual Analogue Scales, and free-text questions. Results Of the 111 responding healthcare professionals, 59/111 (53%) were male, and the median age was 40 years (IQR 26 to 67). Almost all participants owned smartphones (109/111, 98.2%). Most participants reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had influenced their attitude towards the usefulness of eHealth positively (80/111, 72%). Most participants (59%) would use a digital alternative instead of face-to-face follow-up if proven a safe technology, and expect that 64% of all patients would prefer a digital option. Most healthcare professionals stated that eHealth could reduce healthcare costs (94/111, 85%) and improve patient satisfaction (81/111, 73%) but is hindered most by a lack of financial support during implementation (57/111, 51%), followed by complex laws and regulations (54/111, 49%). Discussion Results of this cross-sectional survey show that attitudes of orthopedic surgery or traumatology-related healthcare professionals toward the usefulness of eHealth are positive and may have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though healthcare professionals believe eHealth could reduce costs and improve patient satisfaction, daily clinical use remains low possibly due to a lack of long-term and short-term financial support and complex laws and regulations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9300391af1a74d50aa61c67ffdbfb458 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1472-6963 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Health Services Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-9300391af1a74d50aa61c67ffdbfb4582025-08-20T02:39:41ZengBMCBMC Health Services Research1472-69632024-12-0124111210.1186/s12913-024-11259-7Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal?Jelle Friso Spierings0Gijs Johan Antoon Willinge1Bas Anne Twigt2Sjoerd Repping3Marike Cornelia Kokke4Ruben van Veen5Detlef van der Velde6Department of Trauma surgery, St. Antonius Ziekenhuis UtrechtDepartment of Trauma Surgery, OLVGDepartment of Trauma Surgery, OLVGAmsterdam University Medical CentersDepartment of Trauma surgery, St. Antonius Ziekenhuis UtrechtDepartment of Trauma Surgery, OLVGDepartment of Trauma surgery, St. Antonius Ziekenhuis UtrechtAbstract Background As in many other countries, the Dutch emergency healthcare system is under pressure due to increasing numbers of patients, limited budgets, and constrained (human) resources (TraumaNet AMC 19 May, 2016; Int J Emerg Med 6:41, 2013). eHealth, enlarged by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been advocated to substitute face-to-face care to alleviate the pressure of the burden of care (Ministry of Health Welfare and Sport, 2022; Dutch Society of Hospitals, 2022). In order for eHealth solutions to be adopted in daily practice, is it essential to assess healthcare professionals’ attitudes toward its usefulness. As this is currently lacking, this study explores the use of eHealth in daily practice, opportunities of eHealth, implementation barriers, and desired functions and features amongst healthcare professionals working in Dutch orthopedic surgery and traumatology. Methods A cross-sectional, web-based survey among the 605 members of the Dutch Society of Trauma Surgery and related healthcare professionals on the attitudes towards eHealth in daily practice was performed between November 4, 2021, and March 31, 2022. The survey consisted of five sections with 42 questions, including close-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, 5-point Likert Scales, Visual Analogue Scales, and free-text questions. Results Of the 111 responding healthcare professionals, 59/111 (53%) were male, and the median age was 40 years (IQR 26 to 67). Almost all participants owned smartphones (109/111, 98.2%). Most participants reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had influenced their attitude towards the usefulness of eHealth positively (80/111, 72%). Most participants (59%) would use a digital alternative instead of face-to-face follow-up if proven a safe technology, and expect that 64% of all patients would prefer a digital option. Most healthcare professionals stated that eHealth could reduce healthcare costs (94/111, 85%) and improve patient satisfaction (81/111, 73%) but is hindered most by a lack of financial support during implementation (57/111, 51%), followed by complex laws and regulations (54/111, 49%). Discussion Results of this cross-sectional survey show that attitudes of orthopedic surgery or traumatology-related healthcare professionals toward the usefulness of eHealth are positive and may have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though healthcare professionals believe eHealth could reduce costs and improve patient satisfaction, daily clinical use remains low possibly due to a lack of long-term and short-term financial support and complex laws and regulations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11259-7AdoptioneHealthCOVID-19Trauma surgeryOrthopaedic surgery |
| spellingShingle | Jelle Friso Spierings Gijs Johan Antoon Willinge Bas Anne Twigt Sjoerd Repping Marike Cornelia Kokke Ruben van Veen Detlef van der Velde Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal? BMC Health Services Research Adoption eHealth COVID-19 Trauma surgery Orthopaedic surgery |
| title | Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal? |
| title_full | Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal? |
| title_fullStr | Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal? |
| title_short | Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery – the new digital normal? |
| title_sort | attitudes toward the adoption of ehealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery the new digital normal |
| topic | Adoption eHealth COVID-19 Trauma surgery Orthopaedic surgery |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11259-7 |
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