Abstract
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.