Perceptions and Experiences of Healthcare Providers and Patients Towards Digital Health Services in Primary Health Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Digital health has the potential to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by supporting health systems and enhancing health promotion and disease prevention. However, obstacles such as restricted internet access, inadequate technical assistance, clinical resource disparity, and insufficient user training can impede the utilization and growth of digital health. Researchers should examine healthcare providers' and patients' perspectives to identify challenges and enhance usability.

Methodology: The study was conducted among women health volunteers, staff nurses, and patients who used the VinCense mobile application (MedIoTek Health Systems Private Limited, Chennai, India) to record vital signs. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to evaluate participants' sociodemographic characteristics, perception of digital health monitoring, and patients' attitudes toward digital health monitoring devices. The data were analyzed using R programming, Version 4.3.3 (www.r-project.org). A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes of patients toward digital health monitoring.

Results: The study involved 27 healthcare providers and 406 patients. The majority (66.6%) of healthcare providers found the device convenient and efficient. Around 74.1% faced technical difficulties like internet connectivity and device battery issues. Among patients, 79.8% were satisfied with their digital health monitoring experience, 86.2% found device usage comfortable and 78.1% expressed satisfaction with health education and feedback. Around 354 (87.2%) patients stated that technology has improved healthcare, and 326 (80.3%) said that health technologies have improved ease. The results indicate that female gender (p=0.00), age above 50 years (p=0.04), and occupation status as a semiskilled worker (p=0.03), skilled worker (p=0.00), and clerical/shop/farmer (p=0.01) were statistically significant and associated with the positive attitude for digital health monitoring.

Conclusions: The digital health monitoring experience was found satisfactory by both patients and healthcare providers. The mobile health (mHealth) has tremendous potential for enhancing patient health. Therefore, it is advisable to contemplate an expansion of the VinCense mHealth Platform and other digital solutions to improve service delivery in primary healthcare setups.