| dc.description.abstract | Telemedicine has been advocated as a way of reducing geographical and distance barriers in
healthcare service delivery to enable patients in distant locations access healthcare services
through the use of information and communication technologies (lCT). According to World
Health Organization WHO (2010), telemedicine simply means healing at a distance using
information and communication technologies. Though various studies have reported that
adoption of telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa is low, there is little knowledge on attitude of
doctors towards telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa. This research was therefore undertaken
with three objectives of determining the attitude of doctors towards telemedicine, the extent of
adoption of telemedicine in hospitals in Nairobi County and the factors influencing adoption of
telemedicine in hospitals. Descriptive survey method was used in this research. The target
population was both public and private hospitals in Nairobi County. Respondents were doctors in
these hospitals. The sampling frame was obtained from the list of hospitals in Nairobi County
that are registered with National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). Sample size of 36 hospitals
was targeted. The research instrument used was structured questionnaire on a five point Likert
scale. The data was analyzed using frequency, percentages, mean scores, standard deviation and
factor analysis. The data was presented using tables and graphs. On the first objective regarding
attitude towards telemedicine, the research findings established that doctor's attitude to
telemedicine is positive. The research established that doctors agree that telemedicine is
beneficial and compatible with healthcare service delivery. Doctors also agreed that telemedicine
reduces the need for patients travelling to see the doctor, increases the speed of healthcare
service delivery and that telemedicine can be used by doctors for getting second opinion
regarding patient's diagnosis. On the second objective regarding extent of adoption of
telemedicine in hospitals, the research established that in hospitals, telemedicine had been
adopted to a small extent in doctor consultations, laboratory, radiology and pharmacy. In other
hospital service areas such as dental, dermatology, physiotherapy, cardiology, ophthalmology,
surgery etc, telemedicine had not been adopted. In general, the extent of adoption of
telemedicine in hospitals is low. In regards to factors influencing adoption of telemedicine, the
research established that Availability of ICT connectivity (internet links), cost of ICT
connectivity, Data transmission speed and reliability of ICT systems influence adoption of
telemedicine to a large extent. Resistance by hospital administration and hospital staff was also
reported to affect adoption of telemedicine in hospitals. In conclusion, the research established
that the attitude of doctors towards telemedicine is favorable; however the adoption of
telemedicine in hospitals is low. The low adoption of telemedicine in hospitals despite the
positive attitude of doctors towards telemedicine could be attributed to ICT infrastructure issues
mentioned above and lack of commitment by hospital administration to implement telemedicine. | en_US |
