Knowledge and attitudes of doctors towards e-health use in healthcare delivery in government and private hospitals in Northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making

Research Article

Geoffrey Tabo Olok¹  Walter Onen Yagos²  Emilio Ovuga³ 

[1] Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science Gulu University, P.O. Box 166, Gulu, Uganda;Department of Library and Information Service, Faculty of Medicine Gulu University, P.O. Box 166, Gulu, Uganda;Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine Gulu University, P.O.Box 166, Gulu, Uganda;

关键词: E-health;    Attitude towards e-health;    ICT skills;    E-health attributes;    E-health use;    Hospitals in northern Uganda;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12911-015-0209-8

 received in 2015-01-18, accepted in 2015-10-12,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundE-health is an essential information sharing tool in healthcare management and delivery worldwide. However, utilization of e-health may only be possible if healthcare professionals have positive attitudes towards e-health. This study aimed to determine the relationships between healthcare professionals’ attitudes towards e-health, level of ICT skills and e-Health use in healthcare delivery in government and private hospitals in northern Uganda.MethodsCross-sectional survey design was used. Sixty-eight medical doctors in three government hospitals and four private hospitals in Northern Uganda participated in the study. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Data was analysed using SPSS software Version 19.ResultsOut of the 68 respondents, 39 (57.4 %) reported access to computer and 29 (48.5 %) accessed Internet in the workplace. Majority of healthcare professionals had positive attitudes towards e-health attributes (mean 3.5). The level of skills was moderate (mean 3.66), and was the most important and significant predictor of ICT use among healthcare professionals (r = .522, p < .001); however, attitudes towards e-health attributes did not contribute significantly in predicting e-health use.ConclusionsThe findings suggest need for hospitals managements to strengthen e-health services in healthcare delivery in Northern Uganda.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Olok et al. 2015