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. 2023 Dec 26;9(1):3.
doi: 10.3390/geriatrics9010003.

Perceptions of Patients, Caregivers, and Healthcare Professionals toward Telemedicine Use for Cognitive and Movement Disorders in the Aegean Islands, Greece: A Pilot Study of the SI4CARE European Project

Efthalia Angelopoulou  1 , Dionysia Kontaxopoulou  1 , Stella Fragkiadaki  1 , Evangelia Stanitsa  1 , Dimosthenis Pavlou  2 , John Papatriantafyllou  1 , Christos Koros  1 , Vlado Dimovski  3 , Darja Šemrov  4 , Sokratis G Papageorgiou  1
Affiliations

Perceptions of Patients, Caregivers, and Healthcare Professionals toward Telemedicine Use for Cognitive and Movement Disorders in the Aegean Islands, Greece: A Pilot Study of the SI4CARE European Project

Efthalia Angelopoulou et al. Geriatrics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Patients with neurodegenerative diseases who live in remote areas often have limited access to specialized healthcare, and telemedicine represents a useful solution. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions toward the use of a specialized-tertiary telemedicine service of patients with cognitive and movement disorders, caregivers, and local healthcare professionals (HPs) in the Aegean Islands.

Methods: Data were derived from the "Specialized Outpatient Clinic of Memory, Dementia and Parkinson's disease through the National Telemedicine Network", March 2021-March 2023. The survey included 10 questions (5-point Likert scale).

Results: We received 64 questionnaires (25 patients, 18 caregivers, 21 HPs). Most participants positively perceived all aspects of telemedicine, including comfort (mean ± standard deviation: patients 4.5 ± 0.9, caregivers: 4.8 ± 0.5, HPs: 4.6 ± 0.7), access to specialized care (4.7 ± 0.6, 4.7 ± 0.5, 4.9 ± 0.4), number of transportations (4.6 ± 0.8, 4.6 ± 0.9, 4.8 ± 0.5), adequacy of follow-up (4.6 ± 0.7, 4.4 ± 0.8, 4.2 ± 0.7), future telemedicine selection (4.8 ± 0.4, 4.8 ± 0.4, 4.6 ± 0.6), perceived reliable medical assessment (4.7 ± 0.5, 4.6 ± 0.6, 4.3 ± 0.6), information delivery (4.7 ± 0.6, 4.6 ± 0.5, 4.4 ± 0.9), health status improvement (4.6 ± 0.7, 4.6 ± 0.6, 4.0 ± 0.7), cost (4.6 ± 1, 4.6 ± 1, 5.0 ± 0.2), and general satisfaction (4.8 ± 0.4, 4.7 ± 0.5, 4.5 ± 0.6). The commonest recommendations were more frequent visits, medical specialties, and dissemination of information.

Conclusions: The positive perception of participants highlights the value of telemedicine for specialized healthcare for neurodegenerative disorders, especially in remote areas.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; cognitive impairment; dementia; movement disorders; telecare; telehealth; telemedicine; teleneurology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Perceptions of patients toward the use of the telemedicine service.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Perceptions of caregivers toward the use of the telemedicine service.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Perceptions of healthcare professionals toward the use of the telemedicine service.
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