Bridging the care gap: Harnessing telehealth for enhanced care access among adults with chronic health conditions in South-Eastern Nigeria

Introduction: Telehealth is a term that refers to the use of information communication technology to access both clinical and non-clinical health services. It bridges the long-distance barrier between the patient and the clinician. It allows for patient care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admission. The objective of this study is to determine the use of telehealth for health care by adults with chronic health conditions among households in an urban community in South-Eastern Nigeria.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey. Data was collated using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 25.

Results: Their mean age was 39.9years with a range of 19 – 95years. Overall, 83.9% of the participants were aware of telehealth while 37.3% had a good knowledge of telehealth. 64% of the respondents had used telehealth before, and 38.7% of users used telehealth in emergencies only. 95.9% of the respondents owned either a phone or a laptop and speaking with a doctor or nurse on the phone about current health status was the commonest form of telehealth used by respondents [128(58.98%)]. Furthermore, the commonest facilitator to participants’ use of telehealth was level of computer literacy, while the commonest barrier noted was poor mobile network. There was statistically significant relationship between at least fair level of knowledge of telehealth and use of telehealth (P<0.001).

Discussion: To improve the awareness, level of knowledge and use of telehealth for healthcare, concerted efforts between individuals, health care professionals, telecommunication agencies, NGOs and the government is required.