Keywords
Cross sectional study
Patient trust
Health service associability.
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction: Telemedicine has emerged as a transformative approach in healthcare delivery, offering medical consultation and follow-up through information and communication technologies that transcend geographical barriers. Early experiences demonstrated its capacity to enhance healthcare access and care coordination for underserved or remote populations. As the field evolved, telemedicine became recognized not only as a technological innovation but also as an organizational and cultural shift within clinical practice, requiring integration into established care workflows.
Methodology: This is cross-sectional study done to assess the relationship between patients' perceptions of telehealth usability and their trust in physicians. Data was collected using an online questionnaire by including demographic questions along with the two validated scales Telehealth Usability Questionnaire TUQ and Trust in Physician Scale TIPS after taking ethical. The necessary sample size was 365, We included 385 individuals, in order to increase accuracy and account for potential incomplete answers.
Results: Thirty-six percent (n=118) of interviewees said they had used telehealth services. Users and non-users did not significantly differ in age (p=0.109), with the mean age being 24.1 ± 4.2 years. The distribution of genders was comparable among groups (p=0.945). Telehealth use was significantly correlated with educational attainment (p=0.001), and uptake was higher among higher income groups (p=0.035). The majority of participants had good to fair internet connectivity (77%), while smartphones accounted for 91.5% of all access devices. Females reported considerably higher levels of trust than males (p<0.001), with the mean trust in doctors score (TIPS) being 3.32 ± 0.49. With a mean TUQ score of 99.05 ± 29.29, telehealth usability was high and strongly positively correlated with trust (r=0.45, p<0.001). Although there were no statistically significant differences in usability scores by residence, there were significant differences by gender (p=0.013) and education (p=0.037). Overall, the results show that telehealth adoption is influenced by socioeconomic factors, high usability, and moderate trust.
Conclusion: this study highlights that telehealth is widely accepted for its accessibility, convenience, and usability, while patients’ trust in their doctors is largely rooted in the belief that they are skilled and genuinely care for them.