The Effect of Healthcare Professionals’ Digital Literacy Status and Knowledge of Telemedicine on Perception of Telemedicine
The Effect of Healthcare Professionals’ Digital Literacy Status and Knowledge of Telemedicine on Perception of Telemedicine
Aim: The objective is to determine levels of digital literacy, knowledge and perception of
telemedicine, becoming important with innovations in communication and information
technologies, and to reveal correlations between them.
Methods: In the study, data was collected cross-sectionally, via on-line and face-to-face surveys.
334 healthcare workers from one tertiary and two second-line hospitals were included in the
study. Correlations between variables were tested with structural equation model. To determine
differences between groups, two sample t-tests were used.
Results: Knowledge of telemedicine was found to mediate the relationship between digital
literacy and perception of telemedicine. In this study, perception of telemedicine (x̄= 3.392) and
digital literacy level (x̄= 3.527) were found to be above average, while knowledge of telemedicine was found to be below average (x̄= 2.090). Perception of telemedicine was found to
increase positively in participants with telemedicine experience (t(332) = 4.979, p<0.05).
Conclusion: The importance of digital literacy and knowledge of telemedicine is revealed in
creating positive perception in healthcare professionals about the use of telemedicine. For the
success of telemedicine applications, it may be recommended to include these topics in training
programs for healthcare professionals.
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