Perceptions of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals toward telemedicine use for cognitive and movement disorders in the Aegean Islands, Greece : a pilot study of the SI4CARE European project

Angelopoulou, Efthalia (author), Kontaxopoulou, Dionysia (author), Fragkiadaki, Stella (author), Stanitsa, Evangelia (author), Pavlou, Dimosthenis (author), Papatriantafyllou, John (author), Koros, Christos (author), Dimovski, Vlado (author), Šemrov, Darja (author), Papageorgiou, Sokratis G. (author)

Background: Patients with neurodegenerative diseases who live in remote areas often have limited access to specialized healthcare, and telemedicine represents a useful solution. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions toward the use of a specialized-tertiary telemedicine service of patients with cognitive and movement disorders, caregivers, and local healthcare professionals (HPs) in the Aegean Islands. Methods: Data were derived from the "Specialized Outpatient Clinic of Memory, Dementia and Parkinson’s disease through the National Telemedicine Network", March 2021 March 2023. The survey included 10 questions (5-point Likert scale). Results: We received 64 questionnaires (25 patients, 18 caregivers, 21 HPs). Most participants positively perceived all aspects of telemedicine, including comfort (mean ± standard deviation: patients 4.5 ± 0.9, caregivers: 4.8 ± 0.5, HPs: 4.6 ± 0.7), access to specialized care (4.7 ± 0.6, 4.7 ± 0.5, 4.9 ± 0.4), number of transportations (4.6 ± 0.8, 4.6 ± 0.9, 4.8 ± 0.5), adequacy of follow-up (4.6 ± 0.7, 4.4 ± 0.8, 4.2 ± 0.7), future telemedicine selection (4.8 ± 0.4, 4.8 ± 0.4, 4.6 ± 0.6), perceived reliable medical assessment (4.7 ± 0.5, 4.6 ± 0.6, 4.3 ± 0.6), information delivery (4.7 ± 0.6, 4.6 ± 0.5, 4.4 ± 0.9), health status improvement (4.6 ± 0.7, 4.6 ± 0.6, 4.0 ± 0.7), cost (4.6 ± 1, 4.6 ± 1, 5.0 ± 0.2), and general satisfaction (4.8 ± 0.4, 4.7 ± 0.5, 4.5 ± 0.6). The commonest recommendations were more frequent visits, medical specialties, and dissemination of information. Conclusions: The positive perception of participants highlights the value of telemedicine for specialized healthcare for neurodegenerative disorders, especially in remote areas.

• Language: English
• Keywords: telemedicine, teleneurology, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, cognitive impairment, movement disorders, telehealth, telecare
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 21 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 9, iss. 1, article no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167421
• UDC: 614
• ISSN on article: 2308-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics9010003
• COBISS.SI-ID: 179655171
• Publication date in RUL: 20.02.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Geriatrics
• Shortened title: Geriatrics
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2308-3417
• COBISS.SI-ID: 526109977

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: odzivi zdravstvenega sistema, pandemija, izzivi zdravstvenega sistema, dostopnost, Grčija, zdravstveno varstvo, telemedicina

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Project number: --
• Name: Interreg ADRION Program funded under the European Regional Development Fund