Patient Experience Correlates with Willingness to Retain Service Utilization in Post-Pandemic Times Among Telemedicine Users in Indonesia.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic increases the use of telemedicine worldwide. Sustaining its use during post-pandemic times is important to overcome health care disparities, especially in countries with an inadequate number or uneven distribution of health care workers. This study aims to analyze factors associated with the willingness to retain telemedicine utilization after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online survey was administered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic characteristics and patient experience were used as predictors. Chi-square was used to examine the relationship between the outcome variable and the predictors. Finally, binary logistics regression was conducted to determine factors associated with willingness to retain telemedicine utilization after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: A total of 784 responses were included in the analysis. The result showed a high rate of willingness to retain telemedicine utilization (81%). Factors associated with outcome variable were satisfaction (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 7.893; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.600-17.308; p < 0.001), telemedicine efficacy (aOR 1.747; 95% CI: 1.144-2.667; p = 0.010), ease of use (aOR 6.570; 95% CI: 3.029-14.250; p < 0.001), time efficiency (aOR 1.666; 95% CI: 1.092-2.540; p = 0.018), and cost efficiency (aOR 1.852; 95% CI: 1.005-3.411; p = 0.048). In contrast, patients who first used telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic were less likely to retain telemedicine utilization (aOR 0.437; 95% CI: 0.281-0.679; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The high willingness to retain utilization is a good indication of the sustainability of telemedicine services during post-COVID-19 pandemic. The stakeholders should focus on factors revealed in this study to increase the service uptake.

The Significance of Physician-Patient Communication on Telemedicine Patients' Health Outcomes: Evidence from Indonesia.

The importance of physician-patient communication on patient health outcomes has been globally known. Poor communication in clinical settings, including in telemedicine visits, has been identified as a key barrier to successful medical consultation. This barrier is even more prevalent among people from linguistically and culturally diverse communities. This study investigated the influence of physician-patient communication on telemedicine patient health outcomes in Indonesia, a developing country with great linguistic and cultural diversity. This study utilized secondary data from a telemedicine utilization survey conducted during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Socioeconomic factors and communication features were included as predictors of patients' health improvement. Logistic regressions were utilized to examine the significance of the communication features on patients' health. The analysis results indicated that five communication features including the adequacy of consultation length, a timely physician response, the provision of an explanation of the medication and possible side effects, the patient's ability to utter their physical condition and opinion regarding medication goals, and the patient's ability to comprehend physician explanations and instructions were significantly associated with the patient's health outcomes. Physicians and healthcare providers should focus on the provision of communication features revealed in this study to elevate the likelihood of improved health conditions in telemedicine patients.

The Associations Between Physical Activity and Mental Health Problems in Middle-aged Indonesians.

OBJECTIVES: Mental health issues have become a growing concern worldwide. Research has shown that regular physical activity (PA) can positively affect mental health. This study investigated the associations between PA and mental health problems (MHPs) in middle-aged Indonesians. METHODS: The study utilized data from the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Research Survey and used a cross-sectional approach. The participants included individuals aged 40-60 years who completed the 20-question Self-Reporting Questionnaire. A logistic regression was performed to analyze a sample of 263 930 data points. RESULTS: Nearly 10.4% of the participants suffered from mental health issues. Notably, among those who did not engage in moderate and vigorous PA, a sign of MHPs was found in 12.5% of participants. Those who met World Health Organization standards for PA were less likely to experience MHPs (10.1%). This study found a significant association between PA and mental health. After adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, non-communicable diseases, and socio-demographic variables like age, sex, education, occupation, marital status, and residence, the connection between PA and mental health became even stronger (adjusted odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.78 to 0.85; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Regular PA has been shown to affect mental health positively. Therefore, it is important to improve health education and efforts to raise awareness among middle-aged Indonesians about the importance of PA in maintaining good mental health.

Rural-urban differences in common mental disorders among Indonesian youth: a cross-sectional national survey.

Objectives: The onset of common mental disorders (CMDs) is most prevalent among youth; thus, mental health management is crucial. We examined differences in risk and risk factor determinants regarding CMDs prevalence among youth in rural and urban Indonesia. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized data from the 2018 Indonesia National Health Survey. The population comprised 122,114 respondents, aged 15 to 24 years, who had completed the 20-item Self-Report Questionnaire along with providing demographic and health behavior data. Chi-square testing and logistic regression were employed for analysis. Results: The CMDs risk was higher among urban than rural youth. Risk factors impacting both populations included being female, having a lower education level, consuming fewer than 7 portions of vegetables weekly, smoking, and drinking alcohol (p<0.05). Consuming under 7 portions of fruit weekly and being in the highest or lowest wealth quintile were significant risk factors only in urban youth, while unemployment and divorce were significant only among rural respondents (p<0.05). Marriage was protective against CMDs among rural participants. Conclusion: Being male, possessing a college degree, consuming at least 7 portions of vegetables weekly, not smoking, and not consuming alcohol were associated with reduced CMDs risk in urban and rural youth. Among rural youth, marriage and employment were linked to decreased risk, whereas divorce displayed the opposite relationship. In urban populations, consuming at least 7 portions of fruit weekly and belonging to neither the highest nor the lowest economic quintile were protective factors. Management strategies for CMDs in young people must address these considerations.