Users' satisfaction levels about mHealth applications in post-Covid-19 times in Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the users' satisfaction levels about mHealth applications and their intentions to use them in future (in post-Covid-19 times) in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was adopted in this study. The mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ)22 was used in this study. An online version of the survey was created using Google Surveys, and a link for the survey was generated. As the objective of this study is to assess the users' satisfaction levels about mHealth applications and their intentions to use them in future (in post-Covid-19 times) in Saudi Arabia, all individuals who used or using mHealth applications will be included in this study. At the end of the survey time period, 318 responses were received. RESULTS: Items including 'easy to learn using the app' (mean rating = 3.9), 'easy to find information on the application'(mean rating = 3.9), 'interface of the app' (mean rating = 3.8) were rated to be highly effective by the participants.). However, ability to recover from mistakes while using the applications (mean rating = 2.9), inconsistency in navigation (mean rating = 2.9), and lack of all necessary functions (mean rating = 2.3) were few issues identified. No statistically significant difference of opinions was observed in relation to all sub-scales of usability factor. CONCLUSION: Although the satisfaction levels are good with respect to mHealth applications, the sudden rise in the mHealth users can be partly linked to the several psychological issues such as anxiety and depression among people and also because of restricted access during the pandemic.

Knowledge and attitude of Saudi Arabian citizens towards telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of Saudi Arabian citizens towards telemedicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was designed to carry out this study. The electronic survey, prepared using Google Forms, was distributed to 1500 randomly selected citizens of Saudi Arabia. A total of 330 participants completed and returned the questionnaire. Basic statistics were used to describe the data. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents (73.9%) were female. More than half of them (54.8%) were >35 y of age and had graduate or postgraduate degrees (65.5%). A total of 96.7% of the respondents were Saudis. Most of the participants (70.0%) were familiar with the term 'telemedicine' and thought that telemedicine (92.1%) could reduce transportation costs. Of the respondents, 58.8% had not seen a telemedicine system before and 67.0% indicated that they had not previously used telemedicine services. A total of 87.3% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that telemedicine was a useful tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, more than half of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that telemedicine facilitates the diagnosis of people (58.8%), increases communication (58.2%), reduces clinic visits (85.9%) and performs tasks quickly (70.3%). Also, 51.5% of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that telemedicine affects patient privacy. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes indicated that most of the participants had a positive attitude towards the use of telemedicine as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. They believed that telemedicine saves time, labour and costs and is an effective tool to treat coronavirus patients at a safe distance. However, the government should develop programs to raise awareness in the population about the use of telemedicine for the treatment of various diseases that afflict the Saudi Arabian people. Likewise, a legal framework must be implemented to protect the privacy of patients and healthcare providers.

Understanding the Impact of Digital Health Strategies During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The impact of COVID-19 has been analyzed from various aspects on the health care services management, accessibility and delivery of health care services. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to disruptions in health care services, which led to the increase in adoption of digital health technologies, mostly arising out of need and necessity. OBJECTIVE: Focusing on the prevailing situations (increasing reliance on digital health services), this study investigates the impact of digital health technologies from the perspectives of policymakers and citizens. METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was adopted. Twenty-seven semi-structured online interviews were conducted with experts and policymakers for assessing the impact from policymakers' perspectives. An online survey questionnaire instrument was used to collect the responses from 1698 Saudi Arabian citizens in relation to the various aspects of digital health applications. RESULTS: Health care expenditures increased during the COVID-19 outbreak, resulting in launch of various digital health applications. While policymakers defended their stand in improving health care services and accessibility; citizens reflected inability to book medicines/personal medical equipment online (Mean=2.4) and suffered a lack of personalized care (Mean=2.9) through digital health applications. Moreover, disparities exist between the population groups with respect to the accessibility, utilization, and perceptions of digital health technologies. CONCLUSION: Policymakers have to consider and address these differences in formulating digital health policies and implementing them.

Gig Health vs eHealth: Future Prospects in Saudi Arabian Health-Care System.

INTRODUCTION: The number of gig workers has been rising across the world, reflecting the growing trend toward the gig economy, which is already functioning in various sectors, such as transport(eg, Uber), technology (eg, Appen), and others (eg, Upwork). However, application of gig economy in health care is underresearched, especially in areas of eHealth that can facilitate various online activities and be outsourced. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the gig economy and eHealth in terms of prospects for future health care in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Analysis of data collected using online semistructured interviews with 19 experts, including executives from ministries of health and information and communications, physicians, and health-care administrative managers was conducted and new empirical insights are offered. RESULTS: A lack of legal and regulatory frameworks and integrating gig culture into the eHealth system were identified to be the major challenges. Improved operational efficiency of health care, reduced costs, and positive societal impact were identified to be the opportunities and benefits of using the gig economy and eHealth in Saudi Arabia. A strategic framework and an effective regulatory framework are essential for integrating the gig economy into the eHealth system in Saudi Arabia and improving future health care by adopting innovative artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies. CONCLUSION: eHealth has major scope for future health-care operations in Saudi Arabia and use of the gig economy in eHealth may lead to effective management of eHealth operations. More studies are required to evaluate the idea of integrating the gig economy and eHealth and analyze its impact.

Evaluation of the Mawid mobile healthcare application in delivering services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate MAWID mobile application developed by the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia, which is used for primary care hospitals appointments management and for tracking and tracing COVID-19. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: An online questionnaire-based survey was used for collecting data related to three major factors including Ease of Use, Satisfaction, and Benefits of MAWID application among its users. Out of total 2542 participants, 345 participants completed only a part of the survey, and 204 participants did not use the application. After removing, 549 invalid responses, a final sample of 1993 was included for the data analysis. RESULTS: 82.1% of the participants referred MAWID as easy to use application, 79.8% were highly satisfied with the application, and majority of the participants reflected potential benefits of using the application. T-test results have revealed that significant differences existed between males and females, and young and older participants in relation to the Ease of Use and Satisfaction levels associated with MAWID application. CONCLUSION: Mobile applications can be very effective in delivering the healthcare services during pandemics. However, there is a need for regular evaluation and assessment to trach the change in users' needs and update the app according to the changing requirements.

A comparative study of strategies for containing the COVID-19 pandemic in Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the European Union.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of human lives including health, businesses, and lifestyles. In spite of governments implementing various strategies across the globe, the pandemic is still expanding with increasing numbers of positive cases. In addition, countries are reopening and easing lockdown restrictions in order to get their economies back on track, and this has led to an increase in the transmission of novel coronavirus. Therefore, it is essential to regularly review the containment strategies employed in different regions in order to understand the characteristics of COVID-19 transmission and to formulate a future course of actions. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to review the COVID-19 transmission statistics in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and European Union (EU) countries, and to compare these data with the various containment strategies implemented for containing the spread of the virus. METHODS: A review method was adopted along with different statistical methods for comparing and analyzing COVID-19 data and containment strategies. Transmission types and the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) in the countries in both regions are used to present the current state of the pandemic. In addition, changes in the number of COVID-19 cases are compared with the mitigation and suppression strategies implemented in both regions and their impact is analyzed. RESULTS: Countries in the EU were slow in reacting to the pandemic, as delays are observed in the implementation of mitigation strategies. However, suppression strategies were implemented soon after mitigation strategies. GCC countries, on the other hand, were quick to react, and they implemented both mitigation and suppression strategies simultaneously, as soon as the pandemic emerged. The CFR was found to be low among GCC countries compared to EU countries. In addition, a second wave of transmission was observed in the EU, whereas in GCC countries there has been no second wave, although a gradual increase in the number of cases is observed. Community transmission was observed among the majority of countries in both GCC and EU countries. CONCLUSIONS: With the reopening of markets, the focus of governments should be on developing integrated user-centric preventive strategies, with a blend of awareness creation, motivation, and support.

Investigating healthcare practitioners' attitudes towards the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia: A general qualitative framework for managing the pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Some previous studies have investigated the attitudes of healthcare professionals towards certain aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, some general frameworks have been proposed to manage the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article was to analyze the attitudes of healthcare practitioners in Saudi Arabia towards the treatment of patients with COVID-19, work planning of practitioners, leadership approaches to manage the pandemic, sharing information strategies, medical errors, compliance with procedures, and challenges faced by the practitioners. Furthermore, another objective was to propose a general framework for managing the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: To achieve these purposes, a survey was designed based on an online questionnaire that was initially sent via WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, and email to 336 healthcare practitioners working in 7 hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The response rate was 30.4%. RESULTS: The outcomes indicated that healthcare practitioners in Saudi Arabia had positive attitudes towards effective communication and interaction between health professionals and patients, leadership and maintenance of team coordination, work planning, communication and cooperation between team members, training and skills development of healthcare professionals, implementing strict procedures to avoid errors and control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining an adequate supply of medicines and medical equipment, and obtaining the support of the government, the community, and the people. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, it was possible to suggest that the management of health care operations related to the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia requires effective collaboration and information sharing among various stakeholders. In this sense, communication, effective leadership, coordination and work planning, adequate treatment for patients, strict compliance with hospital rules and procedures, preventive and regulatory measures, and training and support for health professionals, were parameters considered in the general qualitative framework suggested in this study for managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. The propositions presented in this study can help the Saudi Arabian government implement an effective plan to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in this country.