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Public Awareness and Acceptance of Telemedicine in Japan

Authors:
Nermin Elokla
Tomohiko Moriyama
Naoki Nakashima

Keywords: telemedicine; service development; Japanese people; awareness and perceptions; COVID-19 era

Abstract:
Telemedicine seeks to improve the quality, efficiency and cost of healthcare by a variety of electronic means. It is originally designed to serve patients in remote areas. The service involves the use of technologies to support the connection between doctors and their patients without the need for in- person meetings. Nowadays, the COVID-19 outbreak could put a spotlight on Telemedicine as an important tool to avoid the community from infection. This study aims to examine public awareness and acceptability of telemedicine in Japan. Furthermore, it determines the main reasons which hinder the growth of the service in the COVID-19 era from the public’s views. To achieve our goals, 84 participants in the age ranging from 20 to 64 years were randomly selected, and data were collected from them using a questionnaire survey. The survey reveals that all participants are not telemedicine users. Fifty-nine (70%) participants are somewhat aware of telemedicine services, and 51% of them are very much interested in telemedicine. Only 3 (4%) participants quite satisfied with the amount of information available on telemedicine. This is obvious as 43 (50%) of them have no detailed information about the services. Fifty-two (37%) participants state that online telemedicine education program is an effective way to raise the awareness of telemedicine. The survey results also identify the major reasons for not using telemedicine services in the COVID-19 era. At present, there are various issues for a slow growth of telemedicine in Japan. Recommendations to increase the awareness of telemedicine services have been made.

Pages: 39 to 44

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2021

Publication date: July 18, 2021

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4359

ISBN: 978-1-61208-872-3

Location: Nice, France

Dates: from July 18, 2021 to July 22, 2021