Nurses' perceived knowledge, self-confidence, and attitudes in using telemedicine: A case study from West Indonesia

Abstract

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine in the healthcare sector. It provides remote health services from professionals, including diagnoses, treatments, disease preventions, and evaluations, through information and communication technology. For healthcare providers, telemedicine can assist with the improvement of individual and community health qualities. Therefore, nurses need to enhance their knowledge and confidence and maintain a positive attitude toward telemedicine. Research has shown that 70% of telemedicine implementation failures are attributable to medical personnel's inability to utilise technology. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, self-confidence, and attitudes in using telemedicine according to nurses' perceptions in a private hospital in Indonesia.

Method: The study is descriptive-quantitative with a cross-sectional approach. The population was nurses working in an outpatient department of a private hospital in western Indonesia. A total of 52 samples were selected using a purposive sampling technique. The instrument used was the Indonesian version of the telemedicine objective structured clinical exam (TeleOSCE) questionnaire, consisting of 22 questions to measure self-reported knowledge, confidence, and attitudes. The data were collected in February 2022 and analysed using univariate descriptive statistics.

Results: The result indicated that 40 (76%) nurses perceived that they had a moderate level of knowledge of telemedicine operations, 32 (61.5%) perceived they had an average level of self-confidence, and 29 (55.8%) claimed a neutral attitude toward telemedicine.

Conclusion: The moderate perceived knowledge, self-confidence, and attitudes indicate the need for improvement through education, training, and work experience. Training programs on telemedicine are expected to enhance nurses' knowledge and confidence in using telemedicine, creating a positive attitude toward the concept.

Keywords: Attitude; Knowledge; Nurses; Perception; Telemedicine.