Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.)

School

Health Services

Advisor

Miriam Ross

Abstract

AbstractPatient satisfaction associated with the use of telemedicine for patient care may be subjective as it may not reflect the patients' comfort and willingness to use telemedicine. Even though current perceptions of telemedicine may be positive, the challenge is knowing what constitutes the ingredients of patient satisfaction, particularly regarding age. This study examined two research questions concerning whether a patient’s age (independent variable) affected their comfort and willingness (dependent variable) to use telemedicine for their care. The health belief model was the theoretical framework and related to an individual's perception of their health behaviors and their willingness to change their health behaviors based on perceived benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy of the health situation. The secondary data set, which reflected a nationwide survey of 4,345 respondents, was demographically balanced to represent the United States adult population. The Kruskal-Wallis H-Test was used to analyze the data. The results of the two research questions indicated that the null hypotheses were rejected because age was significantly related to the use of telemedicine services. Older patients (60+ years) were more comfortable and willing to use telemedicine than younger patients, with young adults (18-29 years) the least likely. Research recommendations included studies that explore ways to educate and facilitate willingness to use telemedicine in younger individuals and encourage the use of telemedicine in all age groups to be put in place. Implications for positive social change involve the development of programs within healthcare organizations that highlight the benefits of telemedicine services to provide timely and convenient care across demographics.

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