Public Awareness and Utilization of 937-Telephone Health Services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND: Telehealth plays a key role in supporting health care systems and influencing methods of health care delivery. Government laws and medical operating protocols have been largely modified to provide remote care to reduce social contact and ensure a safer patient environment. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Ministry of Health (MOH) introduced several forms of telemedicine as alternatives to face-to-face consultations in clinical settings. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the awareness and utilization of telehealth services before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in the KSA. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, we compared the awareness and utilization of 937-telephone health services (ie, a toll-free telephone service to provide medical and administrative health care services at any time for the population) before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in the KSA. Using a convenience sampling technique, a validated web-based questionnaire was distributed on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) at 2 timepoints: before (February 2019) and during (May 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: The study sample comprised a total of 1961 participants who completed the questionnaire before (n=1303, 66%) and during (n=658, 33%) the COVID-19 pandemic. Both awareness (before=46% vs during=78%) and utilization (before=42% vs during=48%) of the 937-telephone health services increased significantly during the pandemic (P<.001). No significant association of the awareness or utilization of 937-telephone health services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was found with respect to the participants' age, education level, having children, or having any chronic disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate significant increases in the awareness and utilization of 937-telephone health services during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting an increase in public acceptance of the service and providing evidence of an equitable telemedicine service for the population. Further studies are needed to provide a deeper understanding of the barriers and facilitators to the use of 937-telephone health services for different groups of the population.

The Impact of WhatsApp on the Blood Donation Process in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: WhatsApp was the most popular messenger app used in Saudi Arabia with 71% of the total population using it in 2020. WhatsApp is increasingly being used as a tool for mobile health (m-health) interventions; however, concerning blood donation, there is a lack of research studies on the topic. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to measure the general awareness levels of the blood donation process and assess blood donation history, the motivators and inhibitors to donating blood, and to assess the impact of WhatsApp on the blood donation process in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: In this research study, a descriptive quantitative cross-sectional analysis was adopted. A questionnaire survey was designed using Google Forms and distributed online through social media applications to collect data. All citizens aged above 18 years of age were eligible to participate in the survey. There were a total of 150 participants in the study. RESULTS: More than 90% of participants were aware of their blood group, blood donation requirements, and causes to be deferred from the donation. Furthermore, 27% of participants donated blood because their relatives or friends needed blood, 26% donated due to human solidarity, 18% did not donate blood because of their health condition and 14% did not because of the fear of needles. About 33% of participants relied on WhatsApp to search for blood donors, and all the requests were fulfilled with blood donors. In addition, 94% of participants strongly believed that the WhatsApp application had a significant role in bridging the gap for blood banks' need for blood donors. CONCLUSION: Social media applications such as WhatsApp can bridge the gap between blood banks, blood donors and the patients in need of blood in Saudi Arabia, where there is a shortage of blood donors.

Policies vs Practice of Medical Error Disclosure at a Teaching Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Medical errors are unavoidable in health care institutions. Errors can occur due to multiple reasons, yet communication between health care providers has proven to be the highest. However, policies and programs of medical error disclosure were established to ensure that patients and their family members get the necessary closure. Hence, it is vital to recognize physicians' awareness of policies and programs related to disclosure practice. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine factors impacting the awareness of hospital policies and programs and their impact on the actual disclosure of medical errors. METHODS: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study, using a self-administered survey given to 206 physicians from numerous departments at King Fahd Hospital of the University. RESULTS: The majority of participants were not aware of policies and programs related to disclosure, nor had they disclosed a medical error to patients. There was no statistical significance between policies and programs and the practice of disclosure, yet position level and gender were statistically significantly related to awareness. CONCLUSION: Physicians of King Fahd Hospital of the University demonstrated a low awareness rate of the hospital policies and programs regarding disclosure practice. Advanced efforts of hospital leaders need to be made to communicate, train and educate providers about their policies to promote disclosure practice.

The Adoption of the Electronic Health Record by Physicians.

BACKGROUND: Health information technology, especially the electronic health record (EHR) systems, improves health care quality and patient safety. OBJECTIVES: This study's objectives are as follows: first, to explore the adoption of EHR systems among physicians in Saudi Arabia (with King Fahd Military Medical Complex as the location of the pilot study), and second, to identify the factors that influence these physicians' adoption of such systems. METHODS: This cross-sectional quantitative study is based on a paper survey that was administered to a sample of 213 physicians. The theoretical model is a version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that features the following additional variables: resistance to change, training, and social influence. RESULTS: The sample includes 133 (62%) physicians who used EHRs and 80 (38%) who did not. The main findings show that users and nonusers of the EHR system differ significantly for several factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, and resistance to change. In addition, age, work experience, and medical specialty are significantly associated with physicians' use of the EHR system. CONCLUSION: To increase EHR systems' adoption rate, the following elements should be improved: the systems' design, the social environments, and the physicians' awareness of the systems' benefits. This is the first study to produce a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the factors that influences physicians' use of the EHR system at a Saudi hospital in the Eastern Province. Further studies are needed to measure how these factors influence physicians' use of EHRs in other settings.