Assessment of an obstetric telemedicine program during the COVID-19 pandemic
Keywords:
health professionals, midwifery, telehealth, telemedicine.Abstract
Introduction: Telemedicine has positioned itself as a strategy to improve the quality and coverage of services, but its implementation represents a challenge for health workers.
Objective: To determine the perception of the use of the Telemedicine program during the COVID-19 pandemic among midwifery health professionals.
Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study carried out on 40 obstetrics professionals working in a telemedicine program in health centers of the Ministry of Health and who were selected non-randomly. A content-validated and reliable questionnaire was used. Frequencies and percentages were estimated.
Results: 45 % agreed that the trainings were timely and efficient, as well as the determination of roles and profiles for a commitment to the program (50 %). However, 47.5 % pointed out the lack of articulation of activities in the different areas. 85 % found the platform user-friendly and 70 % that it had an efficient information registration system. Also, that the program provides timely access to users (60 %), optimizes consultation time and number of users (52.5 %), as well as more flexible timetables (55 %).
Conclusions: Obstetrics professionals highly value the telemedicine program, recognizing it as a useful and technologically appropriate tool for improving healthcare access and quality. Nonetheless, there is a need for better organization and articulation of this technology in professional activities.
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